Nobody cares about us: US election doubts in West Bank

Shawdesh Desk:

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.