By Fabio Bosco
[Originally printed May 23, 2025]
Between May 13 and 16, Donald Trump, President of the United States, visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The visit followed the failure of Trump’s tariff hike, which was reversed in the face of repudiation by all countries, the majority of the US population and even the big capitalists.
In the Middle East, Trump is rejected by the Arab people, who do not accept the genocide in Gaza carried out by the State of Israel with US support. The genocide is already 19 months old. During this period, Israel has already killed at least 64,000 Palestinians, destroyed all hospitals and schools and prevented the entry of humanitarian aid (food, water, medicine and fuel).
In addition, Trump is also hated for his threat to attack Iran, his criminal bombings against Yemen, his sanctions against Syria, as well as his support for Israeli aggressions in Lebanon and Syria.
Multi-billion dollar deals and aggressions
Before traveling, Trump tried to disarm some of these imperialist policies in order to make his visit viable and maintain US influence in the region.
In Doha, the capital of Dakar, he initiated direct negotiations with Hamas, requesting the release of an American-Israeli prisoner for the promise of humanitarian aid for Gaza, where half a million Palestinians are already starving due to the total Israeli blockade since March 2.
In Oman and Italy, the United States held four rounds of negotiations with Iran, aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear program while enlisting the support of its allies in the region such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and Iraq’s Shiite militias.
In return, the U.S. would lift the tough sanctions against the country and would not take any military action, directly or through Israel. Negotiations are still ongoing, but have already lowered the temperature.
Through the Omani government, Trump reached a ceasefire agreement with the Yemeni Houthis, ending the disastrous military aggression against Yemen, which failed to defeat the Yemeni Houthis. They have already shot down seven U.S. drones, valued at $30 million each. In addition, two fighter jets crashed in the Red Sea at a cost of $67 million each.
The assault lasted 50 days and cost more than $1 billion. In addition to being ineffective, the U.S. aggression could, according to Saudi leaders, jeopardize Trump’s visit, as the Houthis could attack U.S. targets and even the capital, Riyadh. The agreement with the Houthis calls for an end to military action against U.S. targets, but says nothing about attacks against Israel, which the Houthis continue to attack.
Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia
Saudi leaders welcomed Trump with a red carpet and much pomp. The same happened in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Hundreds of deals worth approximately two trillion dollars were signed, including Saudi Arabia’s $142 billion arms purchase; Qatar’s $96 billion purchase of 160 Boeing aircraft; and agreements to invest in Artificial Intelligence, both in the U.S. and in the Middle East.
Trump announced the end of sanctions on Syria, which was celebrated in the streets of Damascus, the country’s capital, but said nothing about the cease-fire in Gaza or the Arab League plan to end the Palestinian genocide, announced on March 4 and rejected by Israel. In other words, Israel continues to have Trump’s approval to carry out genocide in Gaza, annexation of the West Bank and attacks on its Arab neighbors.
It is no coincidence that Arab leaders are considered traitors by the local population. The lavish reception for Trump only reaffirmed this perception. The least that would be expected would be a ceasefire in Gaza or support for the Arab League plan.
Seeking Space: The Claws of Chinese Imperialism in the Arab World
During his visit, Trump lifted sanctions on Syria under pressure from his Saudi and Turkish allies, and also in the face of the risk of a commercial and political rapprochement between Syria and China.
In recent years, China has made significant progress in the region, becoming the main trading partner of several states in the region, including Israel, and also the guarantor of agreements between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in addition to the agreement between the Palestinian parties, signed in Beijing.
Handing over Syria to the US
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, offered Trump a neo-colonial deal, mortgaging Syrian oil and gas (a deal similar to the one signed between Ukraine and the US), as well as the possible construction of a “Trump Tower” (a building intended to house a shopping mall) in Damascus.
Moreover, Al-Sharaa pledged to abide by the ceasefire agreement with Israel, signed by dictator Assad in 1974, and, shamefully, even arrested two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who were in Syria.
Response to genocide: Solidarity with Palestine grows
As Arab leaders fraternized with the main sponsor of the genocide in Gaza, young and working-class people took to the streets in several countries to demand an end to the carnage in the week commemorating the Palestinian Nakba.
The largest demonstration gathered half a million people in London, the capital of England, near the street that houses the seat of the British government. In several cities, including Berlin, Germany, and Haifa, in occupied Palestine, there was intense police violence.
At several U.S. universities, students resumed solidarity activities, including graduation speeches, with moving testimonies against the genocide in Gaza.
Pressure mounts for a cease-fire
At the Cannes Film Festival (France), the famous French actress and president of the jury, Juliette Binoche, paid tribute to the Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza. So did American actress Angelina Jolie.
At the Eurovision music festival in Basel (Switzerland), the Israeli singer was booed. In Norway, hotels are turning away guests with Israeli passports and the country’s trade union has adopted the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
Dutch media reported that a group of leading genocide experts concluded that Israeli actions in Gaza constitute the crime of genocide, following the conclusion reached by the UN rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, and the human rights organization Amnesty International.
This set of actions and positions puts pressure on imperialist leaders, such as President Macron of France or the British magazine “The Economist”, to make statements calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Controversy: Surrender is not the way forward
Gilbert Achcar, a prominent Lebanese Marxist intellectual linked to the Unified Secretariat, to which several socialist organizations that make up the PSOL are linked, wrote an erroneous article entitled “Gaza and the Wisdom of Solomon”, in which he states:
What is certain is that Hamas today faces the choice of giving up its control over Gaza, a decision it can negotiate on terms that guarantee the safety and survival of the Strip’s residents, or continuing its strategy of liberation through arms and illusions. The latter, i.e. illusions, are undoubtedly more powerful for the movement than the former.
The first error in this analysis is to convey the idea that Hamas’ liberation strategies are obstacles to the survival of the inhabitants of Gaza, when the real obstacles are the enemies of the Palestinian cause: the State of Israel, the imperialist countries, the Arab regimes and the Palestinian bourgeoisie, gathered around the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
The second error is to believe that the surrender of the Palestinian armed resistance is a guarantee of survival. Between 1936 and 1939, the British crushed the Palestinian Revolution and disarmed the Palestinians. This did not prevent the Zionist militias from expelling 800,000 Palestinians in the Nakba in 1945. Quite the opposite.
In the West Bank, the absence of armed resistance also did not prevent Israel from advancing the colonization of Palestinian land, driving more than 40,000 residents of refugee camps from their homes and killing more than a thousand Palestinians.
The third mistake is to believe in any guarantees offered by the State of Israel and its sponsors. The unilateral breaking of the cease-fire agreements, signed by Israel and backed by the United States, is proof of this.
The only real guarantee is the strengthening of Palestinian resistance, armed or not, and the international solidarity of the youth and the working class, towards the liberation of all Palestine, from the river to the sea.
Strategy: A revolutionary party to promote international solidarity
The liberation of Palestine depends on a combination of the actions of the Palestinian resistance, the Arab working class (against their regimes) and the international working class, particularly in the imperialist countries.
It also depends on a clear vision of the enemies and allies of the Palestinian cause and real solutions.
For example, the two-state solution, one Israeli and one Palestinian, is illusory, since it does not guarantee the right of return of all Palestinian refugees to their lands and homes and also conceals the fact that Israel is a militarized state that lives off the theft of Arab lands.
Another example: countries whose regimes oppress their own peoples, such as Iran or China, may be temporary allies, but they are not strategic allies, since they are obstacles to building solidarity among oppressed peoples.
Therefore, it is very important to build a party that promotes Palestinian resistance and international solidarity, as well as defending a real perspective of Palestinian liberation, from the river to the sea.
The PSTU is part of an international organization, the International Workers League (Fourth International), which is proud to be on the front line, promoting international solidarity, in unity of action, in several countries. Come and talk with us and get to know our proposals for internationalist action.
