Trump’s trillions and Palestine

Some are preempting US President Donald Trump’s expected visit to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf next month by discussing the region’s promised $3 trillion of investment in the US, suggesting it should be conditional upon achieving political deals — ranging from Gaza and a Palestinian state to Yemen and Iran.

First, these are business deals, including civil, military and investment projects — not political trade-offs. If the Palestinian cause could be measured in dollars and what has been spent on it, it would be the most expensive cause in history. And if the two-state solution could be bought for a billion — or even a trillion — dollars, it would have happened long ago. We have paid the price already. Political demands and commercial deals do not always align.

In terms of expenses and losses, sadly, the billions spent directly on the Palestinian cause since the 1960s are beyond imagination. They have yielded no tangible political or practical benefit to its people. The spending has continued since the 1967 and 1973 wars, through the ongoing financial support of the Palestinian Authority, Fatah and Hamas — alongside arms purchases by Arab states confronting Israel. Add to that the losses suffered by Lebanon and Syria, their infrastructure and the damage to investment, tourism, agriculture and industry during Hezbollah and Hamas’ confrontations with Israel over the past 30 years. Those costs are in the trillions — far exceeding what Trump is expected to receive in Gulf deals in exchange for economic initiatives to be implemented in the coming years.

The promised $3 trillion is intended to serve Gulf states, whose priority — like every other country in the world — is their own citizens, not the Palestinian cause or others. Their goal is to advance their economic infrastructure and complete their development programs.

Look at Iran. From 1980 until today, it has spent its citizens’ money on battles and wars in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Yemen and it funds networks spread across the globe. Yet, after all these years, it has not liberated a single inch of Palestine, nor has it been able to hold on to what it built or invested in Lebanon and elsewhere. Just imagine how much Iran has spent on these foreign operations over 40 years. The amounts must be astronomical. And if we were to add to that the toll of sanctions and missed economic opportunities, the figure would easily surpass a trillion dollars — all wasted, only bringing misery to the Iranian people.

The promised $3 trillion is intended to serve Gulf states, whose priority — like every other country in the world — is their own citizens

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Meanwhile, if you look at the promised trillion-dollar deals between the Gulf states and Trump, they are indeed massive. But the bulk of this spending is in return for large-scale projects that offer significant and meaningful returns for the future of these countries. Part of it also includes profitable investments in US markets.

Trump is not unique in pushing for deals that benefit his country — everyone does it. But he does it with more noise and showmanship. Like Washington, world governments — China, Japan, the EU and other major industrialized nations — strengthen commercial relations with friendly countries. What is different about the Trump administration is its directness and transparency, even with partners like the Europeans, Japanese and South Koreans. He constantly criticizes them, arguing that their trade exchanges are unfair in terms of trade balance and their commitments to joint alliances such as NATO, or their shares in defense agreements.

Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the US is strategic and reciprocal — it is over 80 years old. It has always benefited the region in general, especially when its people are willing to listen and cooperate. And its promised trillion is not a handout — it will be spent over the coming years on major projects currently under negotiation, including nuclear energy use, liquefied gas exports and domestic military manufacturing in the Kingdom.

• Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a Saudi journalist and intellectual. He is the former general manager of Al-Arabiya news channel and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, where this article was originally published. X: @aalrashed