The Palestinian Question: Settler-Imperialism and Changing US interests in the Middle

East.

Introduction:

It was just recently, when bombs were once again heard into the land that was formerly called
Palestine. We had been stirred by the number of people who evacuated from their homes due to
the recent conflict in the West Bank. Moved by the gallantry and fierceness of the civilian
Christian and Muslim communities who despite of Israeli government’s forced evacuation
actions was willing to fight for their human rights. Most of us may also be outraged by the
degree of violence employed by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). On the other hand, there is this
bigger picture that one must see in the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A picture that goes
way back through time and to the doorstep of the present global hegemon, the United States of
America.

The current state of conflict in between Israel and Palestine could be traced back to the
international “Zionist Movement”. Sparked by the “Dreyfus” affair and later on formulated by
Theodore Herzl, the movement is of a political and religious type with the objective of “re-
establishment” of an Israeli state in the formerly Jewish occupied territories, from about
centuries way back (History, n. d.). The Zionist movement inspired the relocation of Jewish
people to the Palestinian territory, formerly under the Ottoman Empire but subsequently
controlled by the Great Britain (History, n. d.). It was through the Balfour Declaration when
formal efforts to reinstall a Jewish state in the Middle East was crystallized. What was obvious
was the fact that the Balfour Declaration was a move of the British colonialists to install an ally
in the Middle East. Arab resistance against British mandate during that time was a phenomenon
(History, n. d.).

It was in 1948 when the so-called Israeli War of Independence finally gave the push for the
formal re-establishment of a Jewish state in the said region of the Middle East (IMFA, n. d.).
Since then, a few wars had been fought-off by the State of Israel, domestically and externally, all
clouded by racial and religious biases. It was in 1964 when the Palestinian Liberation
Organization (PLO) was formerly established by Yasser Arafat, in response to the aim of the
Arab people within the region to reoccupy the spaces taken by the State of Israel (History, n. d.).
The PLO led the First Intifada which would later culminate into the Oslo Accords, giving
recognition to the PLO and halting the bloody affair (History, n. d.). The second largest domestic
affair that Israel fought-off was the Second Intifada of 2000, sparked by the visit of Ariel Sharon,
the then would be right-wing prime minister of Israel, to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a very revered
Muslim church (History, n. d.). As what has been said, external wars were also fought-off by
Israel in the name of its claim to the Holy Land.

Israel battled the Six Day War, giving the country control over the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and
the Golan Heights (History, n. d.). This specific war was a two on one fight between Egypt and
Syria, on the one side and the Israel on the other. The so-called War of Attrition, in between
Egypt and Israel took-off after the Six Day War (IMFA, n. d.). In 1978, another war broke-out,
again in between Syria and Egypt on the other side and by Israel on the other. Subsequent wars
in between Israel and other Arab nations later took place among those were: Gulf War; Lebanon
War; Second Lebanon War; and the Sinai Campaign (IMFA, n. d.).

In most of these wars, the US had been directly or indirectly in support of the State of Israel.
This specific US support on these wars was particularly observed during the Gulf War. The Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait during the Gulf War was foreseen as a prelude to the invasion and
destruction of Israel as threatened by Saddam Hussein himself and thus the US took actions
(IMFA, n. d.). Moreover, this war mobilized many US troops, numbering to 540,000 out of the
total 700,000 allied troops deployed under the virtue of the decision of the UN Security Council
to intervene (Britannica, n. d.). The Second Lebanon War was also supported by US power, even
though not in a direct manner. A hundred bunker-buster bombs were provided by the US
government to the Israeli Defense Force during that time, to kill the Hezbollah leader Asharq al-
Awsat.

Zionist movement had started as a just movement to give shelter to the then oppressed and
discriminated Jewish minorities of the West, but this supposed to be righteous act turned-out to
be part of a geopolitical playbook when colonialist Britain played the divide and rule tactic,
thereby breaking the formerly united colony and establishing the State of Israel. Since its
establishment, the Jewish State has been engaged in domestic conflicts led by Arab resistance
groups and external wars to some Arab nations around the Middle East. In this study, let us dwell
into the concept of settler imperialism as represented by the State of Israel and its relation to the
world hegemonic playbook, specifically to the US. It shall be the theses of this paper that settler
imperialism was a tactics concocted by Western imperialism to smoothly establish a guard post
in the Middle East which the US later took as its major responsibility on behalf of the said
powers. Moreover, we will also dwell into the changing geopolitical situation in the Middle East
in relation to the perceived shift in global energy sources.

Settler Imperialism as Represented by Israelian Occupation:

Settler-imperialism is a term derived by the study from the term settler-colonialism, it is because
the former is just an expanded conception of the latter while the latter is too rigid to denote the
specific geopolitical dimension. Settler-colonialism is the act of de-territorializing the native
inhabitants of a specific area, just like the expansion on the Western frontier in the US which
caused the lives of many native Americans, in the name of additional lands and natural resources
(Morris, 2019). This act could be clearly observed on the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890,
Wounded Knee Siege 1970, Sand Creek Massacre, and King Philip’s War, exemplars of the
butcher of native Americans in the name of new territories and resources (Morris, 2019).

In the case of settler-imperialism, the original concept of settler-colonialism is only widened to

include geopolitical dimensions. These specific geopolitical dimensions involve the installation
and maintenance of a country or countries under the sphere of influence and continuous funding
on that said sphere of influence. In the past years, US has been a funder of the Jewish state
(Zunes, 2002), which brings us to the conclusion that the said so-called ally is under the auspices
of US hegemonic playbook.

Israelian settler imperialism acts as a major force in the Middle East for US interest as it always
checks the hegemonic influence and control of the said superpower on the region. The wars that
Israel have fought also provided testing grounds for US made weapons (Zunes, 2002). Three-
million-dollar worth of economic and military aids are also sent annually by the US to Israel
(Zunes, 2002). The aid given to Israel is primarily in form of military assistance, making the
Israeli Defense Force one of the most technologically sophisticated military force in the world
(US Congressional Research Service, 2020) Qualitative military edge is the US design on Israeli
military forces, which literally means that the former shall help Israel develop a military force
more technology advanced than in the other countries of the said region (US Congressional
Research Service, 2020). This even includes off-setting military sales to some Middle Eastern
countries just to maintain the military preponderance of Israel on the said world region. This
specific attitude or policy is a coordinated effort on the part of both the US executive and
legislative branches (US Congressional Research Service, 2020). Aside from military
development program, the US also has a yearly one-million-dollar loan guarantees to Israel,
securing its monetary and fiscal stability (US Congressional Research Service, 2020).

Settler imperialism is US way of maintaining its preponderance on the Middle East. Without the
Israel as a Jewish star on an ocean of Arab countries, Middle East could grow to monopolize oil
power all over the world. Without exaggerating, the present oil-based economy of the whole
world could turn oil power into other forms of global preponderance. In this regard, that the US
maintains its hold on to the sole Jewish nation in the Middle East. A diametrically different
culture with a history of discrimination and a feeling of insecurity over its neighbors shall always
be a trustful ally of the US and Western powers as a countercheck to the movements of the Arab
nation. It is in this regard that we must study the geopolitical interests of the US in the Middle
East and how oil played a major role in these priorities.

The Middle East as a Setting of US Geopolitical Interests:

In a study conducted by Byman & Moller (2016), it was discussed that among the interests of the
US in the Middle East were oil, nuclear proliferation, protection of Israel, democratization of the
said region and terrorism & counterterrorism. This is almost the same to the conclusion of
Brands (2016) which points out that American interests in the Middle East are due to oil and to
its powder keg characteristic. As what had been discussed above, oil has been the major interest
of US in the Middle East but aside from that containment over the region is also a major concern
of the said hegemon. Brands (2016) quoting Marx describes the region as chaotic and a hotbed
for radicalism. This specific aspect of the Middle East is due to its hard knock characteristic. The
region as Brands (2016) categorically said was a hard to control area wherein resistance to
foreign control was strong and the conditions for popular radicalization was always present.

Focusing on this characteristic of the Middle East we could ascertain that amongst the US fear is
grounded on the homogeneity of the cultures and race of the said region. Even though the said
region is diverse, the Islamic religion, a perceive common ancestry, and commonalities in socio-
historical development are good bonds that unite it. Pan-Arabism even though a politically
defunct movement, was still an evidence of how the region could push for unity within diversity.
Pan-Arabism was a movement which seeks to unite the Middle East and North Africa based on
socio-economic, cultural, and political aspects (Mohamedou, 2019). It was a movement which
actually persisted from the nineteenth century up to the 1960’s (Mohamedou, 2019).

Pan-Arabism, specifically its radical form had been observed by the US government itself as a
threat to its interests in the Middle East. In a paper prepared by the National Security Council in
1958, the radical pan-Arabic group, in alliance with the USSR were categorically pointed as a
threat to US interest in the region (NSC, 1958). Pan-Arabism, or in a general term the unity of all
the Arab Middle East together with Arab North Africa is clearly a threat to US interest in the
Middle East. This specifically proves that together with oil, a united Arab World poses a
strategic threat to US hegemony.

Destabilization seems a pivotal solution of the US in relation to the dangers of a united Middle
East. The seemingly endless wars of the US in the Middle East and the Arab Spring of 2010
were proofs of the strategy of destabilizing the region to maintain its divisions. Since the Gulf
War, US have engaged in various wars in the region, the subsequent War on Terror is not an
exclusion. The War on Terror despite of all the propagandas demonizing the Taliban and
Saddam Hussein together with the Al-Qaeda, giving the rationale for its intervention were
nothing but embellishments to the real geopolitical interest of continuously giving havoc to the
region, in the name of anti-pan-Arabism. The Arab Spring of 2010 even though not directly
participated by US forces had the substantial financing and backing of large American finance
agencies (Nixon, 2011). Thus, we may conclude that without actual threat to US interests, the
said hegemon is always ready to sow discord just to maintain division and havoc within the
region. The so-called democratization interest of the US, based on the Arab Spring of 2010
experience, is nothing more but a tool to consolidate US power in the region. The fall of
Ghaddafi was a major trophy for the American hegemon, which was a direct resultant of the said
Arab uprisings.
Oil and preponderance on the said region have been the actual concerns of the US in the past
decades. These twin interests are two inseparable reasons which made the Middle East a pivotal
geopolitical arena as well as a continuing powder keg.

Oil as a Major Player in US Geopolitics and its Future under Energy Transformation:

It is a common logic that oil plays an important factor in the world geopolitical arena. According
to Olayele (2014), oil is a basic denominator of growth. In the global geopolitical arena, there are
two “oil factors” that play an important part in geopolitics, namely oil prices and pipelines. Oil
prices has played a tremendous impact on development of nations and thus, a pivotal aspect in
terms of international power relations.

Oil prices are pivotal issues in geopolitics as a slide in the world prices of oil may lead to the
lower inflation rates at a global scale. Lower oil prices in the past years are being feared to cause
major economic meltdown and slowdown (Olayele, 2014). On the other hand, oil prices and
geopolitics are somewhat in symbiotic relationships. Oil prices are affected by security factors
among others (Olayele, 2014). But what is much more interesting for geopolitics is somewhat the
issue of the location of pipelines.

Pipeline location is not just a simple question of geographical positioning moreover it may entail
faster economic growth and lofty leverage in the global competition for preponderance. The
European oil is being served by the northern pipeline constructed by Russia (Olayele, 2014).
This may still be the cause why despite of major threats that Russia poses to the Western
European powers, a direct clash between the two poles is still a distant possibility. On the other
hand, the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline acts as a major leverage of China in Central Asia
(Olayele, 2014).

On the other hand, major shift in energy sources pose a problem to the future value of oil and its
pipeline to the geopolitical playbook. In the past years, sustainable energy source and green
growth has been among the foci of UN developmental goals. The recent rowing concerns on the
level of air pollution, the continuing decrease on the price of renewable energy and the
proliferation of green vehicles are among the reasons why the current trend of renewable energy
shift must not be underestimated (Stevens, 2019). It has been observed that energy shifts happen
due to certain triggers, being the introduction of better services as the primary factors (Stevens,
2019). The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Global Commission on
the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation has opined that this change in global source of energy
entails a large impact on geopolitics (IRENA, 2019). But how big and how fast does this said
impact on geopolitics really is?

Many factors may be given to the possible major shift on energy sources, rising of wind and
thermal energy consumption, efficiency of renewable energy, or the major environmental
concerns. But the thing that could only give light on the issue is the current decrease in the cost
of renewable energy consumption (Stevens, 2019). The cost of production for renewable energy
has been on a decline in the past few years. A positive aspect for the fastening of energy shift. To
add more 57 countries around the world have plans of decarbonizing energy sources (IRENA,
2019). The proliferation of electronic vehicles is also observed as a factor in the speed of the
energy transformation (Stevens, 2019).

The actual impacts on geopolitics of this transition remain to be seen but analysts such as
Marshall (2020) has predicted that the transition may on the one hand decrease geopolitical
rivalries but may also entail the competition over minerals essential to the construction of
renewable energy such as copper, graphite, lithium, and cobalt. He also predicted that shifts of
control from major center of oil and natural gases shall happen. Shifts in geopolitics entail
problem on the part of major oil-producing countries as energy sources are more likely to be
decentralized and renewable energy sources are not scarce. Major oil-producing countries are
most likely to be vulnerable while those countries that shall fail to adjust may experience a
significant economic drop (IRENA, 2019; Stevens, 2019).

On the other hand, how does this energy transformation entail to the US oil power or
preponderance over oil? As the said hegemon is the largest producer of hydrocarbon petroleum
and a clear preponderant in the oil-rich Middle East. It may entail two major problems on the
part of US hegemony over energy sources. First, the relevance of the Middle East for US oil
power shall lessen due to a shift in energy sources. Second, new degrees of grip on countries rich
in minerals that are pivotal for renewable energy.

The major efforts of US on the Middle East may shift to some more relevant countries having
minerals necessary for renewable energy production. It shall also mean that its military priorities
will shift to mineral-rich sources. The present declaration of Biden regarding US shift of security
focus, from counterterrorism to the Southeast Asia, accordingly, due to the issue of Chinese
claims in the South China Sea could be a signal to the eroding value of the Middle East. We may
consider more important factors that has caused this recent US announcement, like the growing
power and influence of China in the Southeast Asia as has been clearly seen in the policy of
brinkmanship undertaken by the latter in the recent years. But in the past decades of US focus, it
is just this moment that they have announced a major shift in security focus that categorically
puts the Middle East on second priority.

Does this mean that Israel’s value as a guard post of US interest in the Middle East shall lessen?
The answer is no. As the US may shift its focus to some other parts of the world in response to
other geopolitical interests, the need for a more powerful guard post in the Middle East has also
become a necessity. If the future, world energy politics shall somehow be decentralized, there
will be a greater need for reinforcement of many guard posts for US interests in various world
regions. Marshall (2020) has indirectly projected that South America and Africa may be among
those crucial regions for the years to come as energy sources shift. But on the other hand, other
countries also have the minerals pivotal to the production of renewable energy. In response to the
problem of energy politics decentralization and the larger cost of direct engagement on a
scattered energy source pivots, it shall be an imperative on the part of the US to produce more
Israel-like guard posts, trust-worthy and militarily capable to protect its interest in a specific
region.

The Continuing Relevance of Israel to US Geopolitical Maneuvers

The recent domestic turmoil in Israel must only be perceived as a mere internal affair, more over
it is a warning on the part of Arab countries and a testing ground as to how the Arab nation shall
react to the discriminative acts to some of their brothers and sisters in faith. It is a show of force
to the Middle East and a testing ground as to how the Arab nation shall react to violence in the
region, on the background of a shifting security and energy geopolitical focus.

Settler-imperialism in the Middle East under the guise of Jewish claims for territory and self-
preservation will continue. As there is a growing need for powerful outposts for US hegemony,
military aids are expected to continue to flow in the said state. On the other hand, the question of
how military aids would be scattered along a projected slow shift of security focus on the
background of a transformation in energy sources is an issue that remains to unfold. On the other
hand, the military qualitative edge model of ally-grooming that the US has shown in Israel may
be on the next few years become a model in its establishment of these outposts. It is of course
considered that this remains relative to the security situation of a specific world region. But the
effectiveness of putting up a powerful outpost in a crucial region as what have the US experience
in Israel has been proven to be effective in guarding a possible homogenous source of power
such as the Middle East. On the other hand, geopolitical playbook may have a little specification
depending on the degree of importance that a specific region may entail on the background of a
changing energy politics.

Recent announcement of the US to establish nuclear blanket within Southeast Asia to confront
the growing power of China is an indicator of the possibility of creating more Israel, small but
militarily preponderant country guarding its interests. The Philippines and Indonesia have been a
good ally of the US, from which a new Israel-like outposts may be in the making.

Conclusion:

The Israelian experience is somehow a unique form of the policy of imperialism and status quo
on the part of Great Britain and US. Settler-imperialism as the term that we concocted to clearly
define this form of geopolitical strategy, has been unique to Israel in the whole modern history.
The historical and socio-political context of the Middle East played a specific role in the shaping
of this unique form of geopolitical alignment. There has never been in modern history that a
power has installed a state to secure its interest in a homogenous source of global power.

Moreover, behind the concept of settler-imperialism is a much bigger concept which is the
creation of a militarily advanced outpost in a crucial world region. The present value of oil and
its effects on geopolitics may somehow be the cause on why of all the world regions the Western
powers have clearly put pressure in the Middle East. But this analysis shall be obscured without
inserting the characteristics of the Middle East as predominantly an Arab nation. Oil and
homogenous regions create good ingredients for the making of a world power. This is the actual
reason why the US, in the past few decades has been focused on this said region, thereby
utilizing destabilization as among the tools for disunity and chaos.
The recent studies on the shift of energy sources are relevant to the future value of Israel and the
Middle East to the geopolitical playbook. As energy sources decentralize, the monopoly on
energy power is also likely to deconcentrate. Deconcentrating sources of political power is a
major feature that the energy shift may cause to the present geopolitical structures and priorities.
Shifts from oil and natural gas rich countries to mineral sources of renewable energy also entail a
major turning point to the geopolitical value of certain world regions. Thus, a major change in
the US security foci and other aspects of its hegemonic maneuvers are about to unfold in the next
years to come.

Finally, we can still be certain that the role that Israel plays as a countercheck to the Arab nation
shall not change. Moreover, the need for greater decentralization of operations on the part of the
US due to the coming major energy shift could entail greater value to strong geopolitical
outposts such as the said country. This shall be a result of the need to decentralize while securing
control over a specific region. Direct US participation on future wars could be selective and
lesser in the coming years but proxy wars are likely to be more numerous due to the perceived
decentralization of energy sources. As minerals pivotal to renewable energy production and its
natural sources abundant, regional wars are expected to be the name of the game in terms of US
security policies.

Recommendation:

As the present situation opens a new era to world geopolitical game, it is expected for countries
which are not so valuable now to rise as most valuable countries are expected to step down. On
the part of the currently lesser valued countries, it is a must to protect even this early its natural
sources of minerals pivotal to renewable energy production. This is in line with the possible
assails that world hegemons are expected to do on the said countries. But moreover, what must
the world is to prevent of, is the possible regional conflicts that this energy shift may entail.

It is highly recommended for regional inter-governmental bodies to assume greater control over
their specific region and to secure consensus and peace. Energy shift may still entail cooperation
of countries soon due to lessened competition on petroleum products, but regional turmoil is also
a possibility, and it is only through more homogenous world regions that a safer and freer world
be possible.
On the part of the academe, it is high time to explore the possibility of doing research regarding
the upcoming shift from petrochemical dominance to renewable energy sources on the objective
of giving possible opportunities for nations influenced directly or indirectly by the US and
Western powers to lessen its intervention and control. On the other hand, in terms of finances to
the building of renewable energy sources to the Third World, regional cooperation shall be a key
aspect. Present dominance of US and other Western powers together with China on the aid
politics pose a threat that renewable energy shifts might only mean to be the same world under a
new clothe. In countering this possibility, greater regional unity to assert just and fair financial
aid terms are necessary.

Finally, a new world could unfold through the major shift in energy source, the relevance of
Israel-like outposts and its possible replication to other countries can pose a threat to regional
stability. Thus, it is still a necessity to deepen studies as to how the US has clearly used this
geopolitical tactic of developing a small but militarily powerful country to maintain its
hegemony in the most important and probably the most rebellious region to US hegemony, the
Middle East.

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