‘Trump would be the worst’: Palestinians react to US presidential race

Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank say a United States presidency under Kamala Harris would do little to halt Israel’s war on Gaza after US President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his re-election bid.

Under Biden, the US has provided its ally Israel with billions of dollars in military aid since October 7. Many Palestinians expect Harris, who is Biden’s vice president and a Democrat, to continue supporting Israel if she is elected president in November.

At the same time, many Palestinians fear that Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump will only exacerbate their suffering if he returns to power.

“Trump would be the worst,” Asmaa Nimilaat, 50, said from a hospital where thousands of people are sheltering in Deir el-Balah, an area in central Gaza. “But any candidate that becomes president will not support Palestinians.”

Since Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities and military outposts on October 7, in which 1,139 people were killed and 250 taken captive, Israel has launched a devastating war on Gaza with American support.

Israel’s war has killed at least 39,090 Palestinians, uprooted nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and generated widespread hunger and malnutrition in the besieged enclave.

The war has dominated international headlines for nine months, enabling Israel to quietly seize more land in the occupied West Bank than during any other year in the past three decades.

Palestinians blame 81-year-old Biden for his “weak” leadership and for abetting Israel.

“Biden brought American machines to protect the Israeli occupation and used American vetoes [in the United Nations Security Council] to protect Israel’s genocidal policies,” said Raed Debiy, the head of the political science department at An-Najah National University in Nablus in the West Bank.

“Since the [Hamas] attack in October, America has dealt with Israel like it’s the 51st [US state],” he told Al Jazeera.

‘More of the same’

After Biden’s endorsement of Harris to take his place in the presidential race, Harris has amassed significant support from members of her party as well as from the wider American public. Harris has endorsements from more than 2,500 delegates, enough to win the nomination at next month’s Democratic National Convention, where the party’s presidential nominee will be announced.

But Palestinians are sceptical of a possible Harris presidency due to her warm history with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobbying group that has for years advocated for unconditional US support to Israel.

In 2017, Harris spoke at the annual AIPAC conference and pledged to uphold Israel’s right to “self-defence” and defend US-Israeli military cooperation. The US gives Israel about $3.3bn in military aid annually.

Fathi Nimr, a Palestinian political analyst living in Ramallah in the West Bank, told Al Jazeera that he does not see a major shift in US policy if Harris becomes president.

“There is no indication that Harris had disagreements with Biden about [Israel’s war on Gaza],” he told Al Jazeera.

“I think it will be more of the same,” he said. “Kamala isn’t an outsider that will come in to challenge the status quo.”

Some Palestinians believe Harris may at least be a bit “tougher” on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom many accuse of continuing the war on Gaza to delay national elections at a time when his popularity is at an all-time low.

Ismat Mansour, who spent 20 years in Israeli prisons, referred to how Biden has said he considers himself a Zionist, pointing out that he has an “emotional attachment” with Israel, which makes Harris more appealing to Palestinians in comparison.

“I’m not expecting a big change in US policy,” he told Al Jazeera. “But maybe Harris would work with the UN more and pressure Netanyahu to do a [captive] deal and to find a solution for Gaza because the entire world has an interest in restoring stability in the region.”

‘Stop the genocide’

Many Palestinians in Gaza told Al Jazeera they don’t care that Biden will no longer seek re-election or who ultimately becomes US president as long as the next US leader stops the war in Gaza. Ibrahim Nabeel, a volunteer medic in a hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, is among them.

Nabeel said he is distressed by how frequently he sees bodies brought to the hospital. On Monday, Israeli warplanes bombed eastern Khan Younis, killing at least 70 Palestinians and wounding more than 200, according to Gaza health officials.

Nabeel said Palestinians in Gaza just want the next US president to speak about “safety, freedom and healing” rather than Israel’s right to “self-defence”.

“Honestly, Palestinians really don’t care who the next US president will be. They just want whoever it is to stop the genocide,” he told Al Jazeera.

Few people in Gaza, however, are hopeful that the war will stop any time soon.

Salah Abu Maghseeb, 25, who sells drinks at the gate of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, told Al Jazeera that the US will always support Israel regardless of who is in power. The war on Gaza would have finished “a long time ago” if the US had just suspended its support, he said as he brewed a cup of coffee for a customer.

“With American support, Israel is the most powerful killer of the Arab people,” Abu Maghseeb said.

Nimilaat, who is sheltering in the same hospital, added that Netanyahu may only listen to a US president if that leader is willing to hold him accountable.

“Netanyahu doesn’t listen. Nobody gets through to him – not Biden nor anybody else,” she said. “Why? Because nobody [in America] is willing to use their leverage to stop him.”