Mohamed Minshawi-Washington
President Donald Trump's administration's declaration that Israeli settlements in the West Bank "do not contravene international law" was a major departure from a four-decade-old US policy on settlements.
Trump's recent stance was not surprising, as it was consistent with steps he has taken in the past, and thus contradicts previous administrations, especially the administration of President Barack Obama.
Legitimacy of settlements
Three weeks before President Obama's term ended, Washington took an unprecedented step by refraining from vetoing a UN Security Council Resolution 2334 that explicitly condemns Israeli settlement in the West Bank.
Since 1980, all US administrations have used the veto to protect Israel from any UN Security Council resolution.
Hence, Trump's decision is a coup against the official American positions, especially the position of the Obama administration, which was hoping to establish a new framework for his country's relationship with one of the most important files of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Two-state solution
All US administrations have stuck to the idea of a two-state solution as the ultimate goal of mediating and supervising any negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. President Obama expressed a clear position in favor of the idea of two countries living next to each other during his famous speech at Cairo University, and Obama's position also continued during his two terms.
Weeks after he came to power, Trump expressed willingness to act as a mediator to end the conflict, but stressed that Washington no longer adheres to the two-state solution, and that it leaves the parties to the conflict to reach an agreement that includes a two-state solution or not.
Then Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser to President Trump, said a "deal of the century" would avoid mentioning the two-state solution.
The future of Jerusalem
President Obama did not defy a 1995 congressional resolution calling Jerusalem the capital of Israel, but like his predecessors, he used his broad foreign policy powers to keep his embassy in Tel Aviv. In the 2012 Democratic program, Obama recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, leaving it to future negotiations between the parties.
After coming to power, Trump recognized Jerusalem as an undivided, undivided city as Israel's capital in December 2017, and in May 2018 ordered his embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, ending a firm US position to leave Jerusalem's final fate for direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. With no objection to the Palestinians to establish the capital of their independent state in East Jerusalem or one of its suburbs if the parties reached a final agreement in this regard.
Relations with the Palestinians
The Obama administration has had good relations with the Palestinian side, and Obama has tried to combine the Palestinian and Israeli leadership, which happened more than once, but the two sides did not succeed in reaching a peace agreement.
The Palestinian leadership announced a boycott of the American side, and then announced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that "the United States is no longer a mediator in the Middle East." The Trump administration responded by announcing that it had stopped funding UNRWA and stopped granting the Palestinian Authority $ 200 million in economic aid.
The Trump administration took an additional hostile stance and announced the closure of the office of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington, which served as the Palestinian Authority's embassy in the United States.
The refugee issue
Republican and Democratic administrations agree that the issue of the fate of Palestinian refugees should be left to the final rounds of direct negotiations sponsored by Washington between the Israeli and Palestinian sides.
The administration of President Barack Obama has adhered to this traditional approach, and the Trump administration has on several occasions expressed its lack of commitment to traditional Muslim women, including the fate of Palestinian refugees. Key issues include the refugee issue.