US BACKS ISRAEL
The opening ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem took place earlier on Monday amid mass violent clashes on the border with the Gaza Strip, where more than 50 Palestinians were killed and another 2,500 injured by Israeli defense forces.
"The Israeli killings have the full backing of the United States," University of Pittsburgh Professor of International Affairs Michael Brenner told Sputnik on Monday. "There is no peace process."
The moving of the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was the culmination of a process going back at least to President George W, Bush in 2001 since when the United States had fallen progressively more under the influence of Israel and Saudi Arabia, Brenner stated.
Washington’s European allies would not dare to challenge its leadership and tacitly supported US policies anyway, Brenner observed.
"The Europeans are completely lacking in any political will and, in any case, agree with the overall American assessment of interests in the region — Palestine as well as Syria, Iran [and] Yemen," he said.
The Unite Nations was limited in its effectiveness only to issues that the United States and its allies supported, Brenner pointed out.
NEOCONS PREVAIL
Retired neurosurgeon and political commentator Professor John Walsh told Sputnik the Embassy move was a victory for US neoconservatives or neocons. He also said Trump wanted their support in his confrontation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller and for his reelection bid in two years’ time.
"Trump needs the neocons and their many allies to support him in his coming encounter with Mueller and the 2020 election," he said.
By moving the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and ditching the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, Trump had secured the support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and therefore of most neocons, Walsh noted.
The embassy move also freed Trump to make concessions to North Korean leader Kim Jong-U at their planned summit meeting in Singapore next month, Walsh added, because Israel does not care about Korea.
Turkey has withdrawn its ambassadors from both Israel and the United States in protest against the killings on the Israel-Gaza border. South Africa has also withdrawn its ambassador from Israel.
On March 30, Palestinians launched the Great March of Return protests near the Gaza Strip border demanding that refugees be allowed to return to their homes in what is now Israel. Tuesday marks the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian exodus that occurred as a result of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948.
In December, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the US embassy to be relocated there from Tel Aviv. The decision fuelled unrest across the Middle East and has been condemned by most of the international community.
