How the new administration is supporting settler colonialism in Palestine
From Turtle Island to Palestine, our realities and futures as Indigenous peoples are shared.
In less than a month, the current administration has released a flurry of executive orders that will harm Mother Earth and directly attack Indigenous sovereignty here on Turtle Island.
But these attacks are not isolated to this land. They extend globally, and threaten Indigenous Peoples everywhere, from Turtle Island to Palestine.
The United States has for decades played a critical role in supporting Israel’s apartheid state, including murder of more than 50,000 Palestinians just this past year. Those of us who resist genocide are united in a struggle against colonial aggression, and our freedom is intertwined. Much of the technology and training that ICE and border patrol uses on our undocumented relatives was first used on Palestinians. This technology was advertised as “field-tested” on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza before being deployed in the United States.
The new Trump administration is doubling down on this settler colonial collaboration in three major ways:
1. Foreign Aid and Weapons Shipments
On Day One, the Trump administration issued a 90-day suspension of foreign aid. But the order contained one large exemption: military aid to Israel and Egypt. In the past year alone, over $18 billion in U.S. taxpayer money has been funneled to Israel, the largest foreign aid package in the history of the country.
Under these new guidelines, foreign assistance to Palestinians, refugees, and all other nations in the world will be halted. But the funding of Israel’s military occupation will continue.
At the same time, the new administration lifted restrictions on weapons shipments to Israel. Previously, the United States had not delivered 2,000-pound bombs to Israel — a restriction imposed by the previous administration due to the concerns over mass civilian casualties in Gaza.
2. Green-lighting Expanding Illegal Settlements
The Trump administration has also rescinded previous sanctions imposed on far-right Israeli settlers. These sanctions were initially established in response to escalating settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. By removing them, the president has effectively greenlit further displacement of Palestinians and the expansion of illegal settlements.
3.Targeting Immigrants and Students
Lastly, the Trump administration is suppressing anti-war activism by targeting immigrant communities that are most impacted by war and students who have participated in pro-Palestine protests over the past year and a half.
The president signed an executive order reinstating the "Muslim ban” and broadening its criteria to specifically include Palestinians. And under the guise of "combating antisemitism on college campuses," the administration mandated that universities monitor and report on students and faculty members involved in pro-Palestinian activism. The administration has gone so far as to threaten prosecution and deportation for non-citizens. This effectively criminalizes solidarity with Palestine.
From Turtle Island to Palestine, our realities and futures as Indigenous peoples are shared. We fight for the land and we fight for each other, until Land Back, until Right of Return, until total liberation. No matter how hard they try to silence and erase us, our voices will rise together. We share more than the violence waged against us. We are connected by resilience, our shared legacy of resistance, and our shared demand for a world that is finally free.
Aisha Mansour, Co-Director, Department of Sovereignty and Self-Determination