Trump's warning to Israel shows its precarious position

Growing consensus

Surprisingly, Trump's position seems to converge with that of his political rival, Joe Biden. Both seem growingly frustrated with Netanyahu's persistence to continue the war and worry that this intransigence comprises Israel's international standing and will lead to it becoming a pariah state.

Trump's words seemed more direct and bold, while the US abstention of the UNSC ceasefire vote and subsequent downplaying of it as "non-binding" seems more timid.

Nonetheless, the shared view seems to be a recognition of the profound effect of Israel's hideous war on American public opinion. The level of disgust among American citizens seems to have caught Israel off-guard, which is typically accustomed to widespread support.

The recent Listen to Michigan campaign, in which more than 100,000 people cast an "uncommitted" vote in protest of Biden's support for Israel, was a huge wake-up call to his re-election campaign.

The protest vote spread to other key swing states, which signals a growing generational divide in America on the Palestine issue.

Many young voters are increasingly pro-Palestinian and less willing to give Israel a blank cheque in its genocidal war, occupation and apartheid.

This leaves both the Democrat and Republican parties recalibrating their support of Israel into the election. 

Read more: Super Tuesday showed how Gaza is shaping the tight race for the White House

Why now?

The shift in American public opinion can be attributed to several factors. First is the growing presence of immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries in the US, who are integrating into the political landscape across both conservative and liberal spectrums.

Additionally, educated and informed youth are challenging entrenched political views which have historically sided with Israel. They increasingly view it as the aggressor, not the victim, as has been the traditional belief.

These shifts indicate that a broader transformation is taking place in Western societies, but the political impact of this shift has yet to be seen.

Nonetheless, these developments offer cautious optimism at a bleak time when people are watching history's first live-streamed genocide unfolding in Gaza. As such, the potential of these developments to reshape policy cannot be discounted.