The US is retaliating against allies over their unwillingness to fully support Israel’s war in Gaza. [Getty]
With its continued staunch support for Israel’s far-right government in its war on Gaza, the United States is seeing a loss in alignment from some of its closest allies, and is opting for retaliation.
This month, Israel announced the closure of its embassy in Dublin after Ireland’s recognition of the Palestinian state in May, along with Spain and Norway. Tension was further exacerbated with Spain’s suspension of weapons shipments to Israel this month, to which the US responded by threatening to fine Spain over an alleged violation of maritime trade regulations.
The US has already gone against Spain’s position by making a major arms shipment on a vessel that stopped at a US base in Spain, which Spanish authorities say violates Spanish law.Â
It’s unclear how far the US will go to retaliate against its allies that push back against Israel’s war on Gaza. However, with Donald Trump set to take office in less than a month, US foreign policy could become far more aggressive.Â
Trump has already signalled that he would be open to waging war against Iran, annexing the occupied West Bank, resettling Gaza, and that he would retaliate against his own domestic opponents. In recent days, he has said that he wants to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Other less influential countries that recognised Palestine as a state this year are: Armenia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Slovenia, and Trinidad.
Though they don’t have major military shipments to Israel, some of them heavily rely on US aid and trade to support their economies, which could be at risk if the US moves forward with further retaliation after their legal challenge to Spain.
