Other articles | Donald Trump’s return and Palestine: a reading from transactional political realism

Moisés Garduño García, profesor adscrito a la Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. mgarduno@politicas.unam.mx  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3407-6578 

The crisis in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent military response resulting in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, formed the backdrop in the Middle East to Donald Trump’s return to the US Presidency in January 2025. This paper argues that Trump’s transactional approach to Gaza is neither make-believe nor insane. Rather, it is a rational strategy that pursues positive assets at home and, at the same time, a regional shift that favours the United States and Israel’s economic and military interests in the zone. In short, Trump’s return to the Presidency does not represent a hope of peace for the Palestinians but the pursuit of a foreign policy focused on boosting the Abraham Accords and the maximum reduction of Palestinian geography.

Keywords: United States, foreign policy, Middle East, Donald Trump, Gaza, Palestine, Israel, transactional political realism

How to cite this article: Garduño García, Moisés. «El regreso de Donald Trump y Palestina: una lectura desde el realismo político transaccional». Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, n.º 141 (diciembre de 2025), p. 139-160. DOI: doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2025.141.3.139

Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, nº 141
Quadrimestral (Octobe-December 2025)
ISSN:1133-6595 | E-ISSN:2013-035X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2025.141.3.139

Reception date: 10.03.25   ; Acceptance date:  18.08.25

 This paper was possible thanks to PAPIIT project IN300226 of the DGAPA-UNAM

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