The recent developments in U.S.-Israel relations mark not just a strategic shift but a historic moment that dismantles long-standing diplomatic illusions and paves the way for a radically transformed Middle East. This shift became evident when former U.S. President Donald Trump openly declared his support for Israel, saying it has fought heroically. And that the nation has been strong and united in the face of an enemy that has kidnapped, tortured and slaughtered innocent women and children.
This marks a turning point, akin to the 1917 Balfour Declaration that recognized the Jewish right to a homeland and Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, in which the fledgling state triumphed against a united Arab assault. Trump went further, drawing parallels between the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and Holocaust denial, saying there are people that “like to pretend it didn’t happen like the Holocaust didn’t happen, same mindset.”
This rhetoric challenges decades of political narratives that sought to downplay the persistent threat of Palestinian terrorism. For years, efforts at appeasement and humanitarian concessions have diluted Israel’s right to self-defense, even as Hamas has turned children’s bedrooms into armories and hospitals into missile launch sites. The criticism of Israel’s defensive war—combined with former President Joe Biden’s repeated ceasefire demands and the misdirection of humanitarian aid into Hamas’s hands—has now been laid bare. What Israel faces is not merely a military confrontation but a fundamental struggle for survival.
The alignment between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has led to a groundbreaking agreement between the two nations. At its core are two key objectives: securing the release of Israeli hostages and ensuring the complete eradication of Hamas. This consensus was previously thought impossible, as any diplomatic negotiation appeared at odds with Hamas’s total defeat.
Yet Trump, as the disruptive factor in global politics, has made this scenario plausible. The reality on the ground is stark; Gaza lies in ruins and will require years of reconstruction. With Hamas eliminated, a new vision for the region would emerge. Trump’s strategy involves cooperation with Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab nations to redesign the Middle East, one in which terrorism is decisively expelled.
Of course, obstacles remain.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt shot back at Trump’s plan, particularly regarding the relocation of Gaza’s population during reconstruction. Hamas could certainly use its remaining arsenal to disrupt the process. However, Trump has issued a direct warning saying there will be a more violent response if hostages do not return. This shifts the burden onto regional actors like Jordan, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey—nations that may struggle to resist American pressure, which comes with both diplomatic bargaining and implicit threats.
Now, however, a previously unthinkable idea has now entered serious consideration: direct U.S. oversight of Gaza’s reconstruction phase. Trump’s history suggests he is not one for empty threats, and Iran’s immediate reaction to his latest remarks reinforces the seriousness of the situation. When Trump, alongside Netanyahu, reaffirmed that Iran would never obtain nuclear weapons, his administration swiftly imposed new sanctions on the Iranian regime. In response, Iran signaled a willingness to negotiate, an acknowledgment of Trump’s unpredictable yet formidable approach.
For decades, the Palestinian leadership has rejected the concept of two states for two peoples. Now, with Trump advocating for the relocation of some Palestinians from Gaza, a major roadblock to peace has been removed. Fatah’s role in this new landscape remains uncertain, but Israel will not tolerate a Palestinian state being built with the intention of undermining its own. However, there is potential for cooperation with a reformed Palestinian Authority—one free from Hamas’s violent influence and P.A. head Mahmoud Abbas’s tacit support for terrorism.
Interestingly, Saudi Arabia has not explicitly demanded the creation of a Palestinian state in recent discussions. Trump himself has pointed out Israel’s vulnerability calling it a small nation facing a vast and hostile Middle East. This perspective has led him to request two months to deliberate on the issue of Israeli annexations in Judea and Samaria, breaking away from the traditional narrative that equates Israeli settlers with criminal activity—an anti-Israel stance reinforced by an Obama-era U.N. resolution.
Trump’s departure from the U.N. Human Rights Council, where Iran chaired the African-Asian bloc, signals a broader rejection of international bodies that systematically demonize Israel. His administration’s stance is clear: Israel’s defensive war is justified, its soldiers are courageous, and the hostages must be returned. Above all, Hamas must be eliminated. At the heart of this policy shift lies a fundamental truth: Israel is the Jewish homeland, and the American leadership recognizes it.
As Trump and Netanyahu push forward, they aim to dismantle the long-standing falsehoods that have shaped global perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The days of sanitizing Palestinian terrorism with diplomatic euphemisms may be coming to an end. Instead, a new geopolitical reality is taking shape—one in which Israel’s right to exist and defend itself is no longer up for debate.