‘Dehumanisation’ of Palestinians dominates US policy
US policymakers fail to grasp the notion that Palestinians are rooted in their land and, therefore, fail to understand their right to a state, says HA Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.
“There is an issue with regards to how Palestinians as Palestinians – and also as Arabs and part of the broader Muslim world – are discussed in the context of American policy-making,” Hellyer told Al Jazeera.
“What we have seen over the past 18 months is a complete dehumanisation of what Palestinians represent and an acceptance of that dehumanisation across the board,” he added.
“It’s no surprise he [Trump] would not regard them as with the right of self-determination or autonomy on their land because they are essentially nomads. It’s very similar to the language you would have seen about Native Americans in the US 100 years ago.”
US families accuse Palestinian-American billionaire of facilitating Hamas attacks
Nearly 200 Americans, including survivors and relatives of victims of the October 7 attacks on Israel, have filed a lawsuit against Bashar Masri, accusing him of providing assistance in constructing infrastructure that allowed Hamas fighters to carry out their deadly assault.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for Washington, DC, is thought to be the first case of a US citizen being accused of providing major support for the attacks.
In a statement, the plaintiffs said properties that the Palestinian-American owned, developed and controlled “concealed tunnels underneath them, and had tunnel entrances accessible from within the properties, which Hamas used in terrorist operations before, on and after October 7th”.
“Defendants facilitated the construction and concealment of those tunnels and even built above-ground solar panel installations that they then used to supply Hamas with electricity to the tunnels,” it said.
Masri’s office called the lawsuit “baseless”.
It said Masri would seek their dismissal in court, that he had been involved in development and humanitarian work for the past decades and “unequivocally opposes violence of any kind”.
“Neither he nor those entities have ever engaged in unlawful activity or provided support for violence and militancy,” it added.
Bashar Masri poses during an interview with Reuters in Rawabi, October 5, 2020
