The U.S. has supported many Palestinian causes over the years, but their alliance with Israel has complicated relationships in the region.
Since Oct. 7, the U.S. has been seen as overly aligned with Israel. D.C. has vetoed many ceasefire resolutions at the U.N. while its own ceasefire proposals have also been vetoed.
Despite actions by the U.S. to limit Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip and plans to create peace via personnel off the coast of the Gaza Strip, the U.S. still has a lot of work to do to repair relations with Muslim-majority nations.
This includes very close allied governments who privately support the ending to Hamas, but cannot be seen by their people to be against a “Muslim cause”. The situation harbors the danger of further radicalization and a rise in terrorism around the world that is focused on hurting Americans.
Saudi Arabian Ambassador Prince Khalid bin Bandar to the United Kingdom gave a warning to all Western Nations who support Israel. Prince Khalid bin Bandar told the BBC that the situation “is going to create a lack of hope amongst not just the Palestinian people, but disaffected people [across the world]. All see a failure of humanity in what is happening, because nobody has done anything to stop it. Efforts are being made, but it is not enough.” This lack of hope is one of the greatest reasons people join terrorist groups because when all else fails, they choose to be heard by any means possible.
American experts have also heeded these warnings about the rise in Islamic extremism in our own borders due to our lack of border security and the growth of homegrown terror. Intelligence networks have shown America and allies are being targeted by pro-Palestinian groups and ISIS has called on supporters to attack Christians and Jews across Europe and America during Ramadan. The results of this have already been shown in the Red Sea with the Houthi Rebels, as well as in other areas like Jordan where American forces have been struck.
Equally troublesome is the possibility of the U.S. losing very close allies. For example, Egypt is struggling with the Suez Canal crisis and if other nations find ways to decrease tensions faster than the U.S. like Mainland China, Egypt may grow closer to them.
Another major factor is the loss of American credibility and a declining image of the American-led rules-based order in the public eye. These two factors are crucial for freedom around the world and for U.S. national security.
Since World War II, the U.S. has been seen as a reliable partner for global security because it follows rules better than most other nations that have the power to enforce them. However, D.C. leaders have not found a way to enforce humanitarian laws when their ally Israel is implicated, showing an extreme case of bias lowering the world's image of America. There have even been increased talks to move the U.N. headquarters from New York City.
Because international law is being ignored, many have questioned the purpose of it and how the U.N. needs to re-organize from the permanent security members’ vetoes. While this could create a better world, it also runs the risk of making it worse. This uncertainty is especially disadvantageous to the U.S. which is one of five permanent security members with a major voice in formulating international law. This means the international order may become less American-influenced.
However, all of these trends can be reversed if the U.S. is shown to be a reliable partner in international law and in holding their allies accountable such as Israel. America’s recent actions have created goodwill across the world, such as their ceasefire proposals, work against Israeli West Bank settlements and their discussions of the needs for Palestinians to be protected by sending in aid and potentially military off the Gaza Strip coast.
All of these actions have shown that the U.S. can be a reliable partner in attempting to enforce international law, which it needs to re-establish faith in. Only then can closer ties be forged with the ever-growing Muslim world, because ignoring their needs will only serve to further tarnish America’s global reputation.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author.