Daily Times

As Palestinian-American entrepreneur Jamal Zaglul stood by his olive press at the end of harvest season in the occupied West Bank, his mind was far away on next week’s US election.

Like other US passport holders living in Turmus Aya — where they form the majority — he was sceptical the ballot would bring change to the region. “Here we have problems. Nobody (in the US) cares about us,” said the businessman in his 50s.

Violence in the West Bank — occupied by Israel since 1967 — has surged since the Gaza war erupted after Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Zaglul spoke fondly of former US president Bill Clinton, under whose administration the landmark Oslo Accords were signed, creating arrangements between the Palestinians and Israel. “This time we need to start changing. We have to have another party, a separate party, independents,” Zaglul said. “The other ones, they’re not helping us.” Fellow dual national Basim Sabri planned to vote for a third party candidate in protest after “eight years of miserable administration”.

The Minnesota-based native of the northern West Bank did not mince words about the current White House occupant, calling Joe Biden a “war criminal”. He was equally critical of Biden’s predecessor and current Republican contender Donald Trump, calling him a “maniac, racist”.

Sabri said he would vote for Jill Stein, the perennial Green Party candidate who is on the ballot in nearly every battleground state this presidential cycle.

Stein ran in 2012 and 2016, securing just 0.4 percent and one percent of the vote, respectively. Deeply shocked by the Gaza war, Sabri hopes the United States will push more for peace. “It’s the only country in the world that’s vetoing the decision of the majority of the world to stop the war and condemn Israel,” he said.

Hamas’s attack on Israel last year resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s response has led to the deaths of 43,259 Palestinians in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, deemed reliable by the United Nations.

California resident Odeh Juma, who returns to Turmus Aya several times a year, pointed bitterly to US military support for Israel. “As Palestinians, we feel our concerns — like ending wars globally, in Palestine or Ukraine — are overlooked in favour of the politicians’ own electoral interests,” he said.

Juma planned to watch election night coverage but would not cast a ballot.

“If we don’t vote now, it will highlight the importance of the Arab, Palestinian and Muslim voices for future elections,” he said. There are about 172,000 Palestinian-Americans in the United States, according to a 2022 census survey, with many from swing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania. Thousands of Palestinian Americans live in the West Bank, a community shaken by the killings of an American and two dual citizens this year. Juma’s son Adam said “people tend to be scared to vote for anybody, and especially for Trump”.

He recalled that during Trump’s first presidential run, some hoped he would be “different”, but he dealt numerous blows to Palestinians once elected. Trump’s administration notably broke with US precedent by declaring it did not see Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal.

These settlements are considered illegal under international law. Adam Juma has been following the election but will not vote, believing the United States no longer influences global conflict resolution. “It won’t change anything if we vote for anybody… It’s not like how it used to be,” he said.

Ramallah resident Leila said she voted for Stein. “The ongoing genocide is at the top of my mind and Harris has done absolutely nothing to win my vote in that regard,” she said. Sanaa Shalabi, a Palestinian American, said she also planned to sit out the election.

“Here, no one cares about us… There is an American embassy here, but it does nothing,” she told AFP. “They do not stand with us. In fact, Israel is the one that controls America.”