Gulsum Incekaya
25 January 2021•Update: 25 January 2021
ISTANBUL
Experts believe while the US will continue its traditional policy towards Israel, the new President Joe Biden may not toe his predecessor’s line of identifying with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Berdal Aral, professor at Istanbul Medeniyet University said while he does not expect much, but Biden will endeavor to renegotiate the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
"He [Biden] also seems to be a little more critical when compared to Trump on illegal settlements," he said.
Stating that one of the main pillars of US foreign policy has been to secure Israel, Aral said there may be some differences at the level of using the language.
"Relations with Israel could not be prevented even under Barack Obama, who did not have a good relation. Therefore, there is no point in having too much expectation," he added.
Predicting a continuous aggressive attitude of Israel towards Iran and Lebanon, Aral said that Biden could revert to a nuclear deal with Iran and will make it a fait accompli.
Haydar Oruc an expert at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (ORSAM) said that during the Trump era, the US placed Israel at the center of Middle East politics, and other relations were arranged accordingly.
He pointed out that the US withdrew from previous commitments, made unilateral decisions by ignoring international law, and most importantly, it lost its role as a mediator in the region.
Noting that while the Biden administration did not hesitate to overthrow many of Trump's decisions, Oruc stated that the new US administration has stood by moving its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, and the normalization agreements initiated with Arab countries.
He, however, stressed that the main difference between the Trump administration and the Biden administration is to renegotiate the nuclear deal with Iran, adding that if the US rejoins the deal, Arab countries in the region would also reconsider their relations with Israel.
Stating while this situation has the potential to damage Israel’s gains over the last four years, Oruc said the Arab countries, especially in the Gulf, who gathered around to counter the Iranian threat may no longer believe Israel’s aura in Washington.
He said that Israel-centered security architecture will collapse as Arab nations will conclude that Tel Aviv was not able to prevent the US from cooperating with Iran.
"What is certain is that the Palestinians can let out a sigh of relief, but they will not be able to regain many of the things they have lost. Israel, on the other hand, has come to the end of a period that they could only have dreamed of, and after this time it will endeavor to keep its gains," Oruc said.
