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Trump’s Abraham Accords Incited Hamas Attack

Canadian Dimension: 12 February 2025

Donald Trump’s failed 2020 Abraham Accords led directly to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. This agreement, initially signed by Israel, the US, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, was ostensibly designed to “recognize the importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East and around the world based on mutual understanding and coexistence, as well as respect for human dignity and freedom, including religious freedom.”

Instead, Trump’s attempt to “normalize” relations between Israel and the Sunni Arab states cynically ignored Palestinian aspirations for independent statehood. Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups realized that only bold military action would reclaim the world’s attention.

Hamas attacked, with certain anticipation of a devastating Israeli response. The Israeli military immediately launched a 15-month campaign of indiscriminate slaughter and destruction, relying mainly on air power and heavy artillery. To date, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed along with 120,000 wounded, including thousands of infants. These numbers do not include other victims likely buried under the rubble.

In spite of the terrible cost, Hamas’s lethal October 7 attack has completely refocused the world’s attention on the Palestinian resistance struggle in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel’s brutal response also revealed its willingness to kill its own soldiers, as well as captive Israeli civilians, under the secretive Hannibal Directive.

The Hamas attack also activated military action from the so-called Axis of Resistance. Both Hamas and Hezbollah inflicted serious losses on Israeli ground forces in Gaza and South Lebanon. With Iranian support, Hezbollah and Yemeni Houthi forces also assisted Gaza’s Palestinian resistance by targeting Israeli military and infrastructure targets with drones and sophisticated missiles.

The negative effects of these attacks on Israel’s economy, people and military morale have been minimized in Western mainstream media. Inevitably, Israel’s willingness to kill and terrorize Lebanese civilians was exposed by its re-application of the Dahiya Doctrine of disproportionate force and its pager sabotage. Israel’s destruction of Gaza has backfired on Trump and Israel’s Likud hardliners, causing Saudi Arabia to insist on Palestinian statehood as a precondition of normalization with Israel. As well, both Egypt and Jordan refuse to cooperate in Trump’s bizarre scheme to empty Gaza of Palestinians.

Concerning the Axis of Resistance, both Hezbollah and the Houthis have temporarily ceased Israeli attacks while Iran, under US sanction pressure and restraining Russian influence, has refrained from assembling any nuclear bombs.

Western coverage of the current Hamas-Israel ceasefire consistently ignores the fact the Israel always violates ceasefires to antagonize its opponents and justify counter-retaliation. As of this writing, Israel continues to kill Palestinians and block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. This tactic is ignored by compliant mainstream media who faithfully portray violent Palestinian responses to Israeli violations as proof of Arab savagery.

Donald Trump’s transactional perspective severely limits his effectiveness on the world stage. During his recent public appearance with indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, the US leader arrogantly declared that Gaza’s Palestinian population must accept his vague promise to settle them elsewhere. This is Trump’s latest attempt to delegitimize Palestinians’ refugee status and weaken their claim to a collective right of return.

Ignoring the US support role in Gaza’s destruction, Trump claims that America will “own” and rebuild the battered territory, transforming it into a paradise for everyone but its original inhabitants. The US president has advised Palestinians to expect more Israeli bombing if they dare remain in Gaza. Naturally, someone else must pay the enormous bill for Trump’s outrageous proposal.

Contrary to Trump’s fantasy plan, Gaza’s people will not leave their home, preferring defiance to surrender. This bold stance is obviously beyond Trump’s comprehension, accustomed as he is to manipulating and bullying his way through life, surrounded by sycophants and cynical opportunists.

Trump might be an agent of chaos but he remains the world’s dominant politician, with a tremendous, if unacknowledged, responsibility to communicate clearly and even graciously. His arrogant rhetoric betrays a deep contempt for the gravity of his office and the welfare of others.

Donald Trump does not understand or respect the value of principled resistance to illegitimate authority. Nevertheless, this is the only course available to working people, including those Palestinians who prefer uncomfortable freedom to de facto slavery.

Author Bio:
Morgan Duchesney is a Canadian writer and Karate teacher whose work has appeared in Humanist Perspectives, Adbusters, Briarpatch, Canadian Dimension, Shintani Harmonizer, Victoria Standard, the Hampton Institute and the Ottawa Citizen. In addition to political writing, Morgan has published martial arts work and short fiction.