NASSER: U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL IS THE PROBLEM

Is it time the US listened to a bit of old African advice? President Joe Biden has come out strongly in support of Israel, as Tel Aviv rains down bombs and kills Palestinian children in their thousands - supposedly acting in self-defence. Were Egypt’s former president Gamal Abdel Nasser still around, he’d probably want to tell Biden what he said back in this 1967 interview: “US support of Israel is the problem!”

Here he argues that it’s a simple matter of fairness - a superpower like the US shouldn’t take sides, but should equally listen to Arab voices and concerns.

A Pan-Africanist and Pan-Arabist, Nasser had ambitions of defeating Israel and returning all of Palestine to the Palestinians. But he was dealt a bloody nose by Tel Aviv’s’s pre-emptive 1967 attack. Not only did Egypt lose Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula during the ensuing Six-Day War, Israel also took over the West Bank from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria.

Before and after 1967, the US has been Israel’s main arms supplier. It pumps billions into the country and gives it seemingly unconditional support on the diplomatic front - whether Tel Aviv’s actions are legal or not. Under Donald Trump, the US inflamed tensions further by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Do you think Nasser was right? Why do we never hear Washington defend Palestinian rights?