US election: Views from Gaza, Yemen and Tunisia

As Americans voted to elect their new president, Al Jazeera asked people from across the Middle East for their opinions on the US election and what, if any, expectations they had.

One Gazan resident told Al Jazeera that Palestinians “didn’t expect or want any assistance from the US administration” since Washington “helps the Israeli authority in its occupation and suppression of Palestinians”.

Another said: “US politics has not changed in the last 100 years, from George Bush senior to his son and other presidents … the US will always remain loyal to Zionism and unfortunately violence will continue in the Middle East.”

The mood was similar in war-ravaged Yemen, where residents criticised the US for supporting dictators and its targeting of Muslim-majority countries.

“We hope the US and Americans generally leave Muslims alone. All the calamities we suffer are the result of US, Iranian and Western policies; and it all boils down to their enmity to Islam and the Muslims,” said a Yemeni national.

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Another said: “I expect no change in US foreign policy, namely towards the Muslim world; especially with Trump. As for Hillary Clinton, I believe she will follow the same policies of Obama, namely to cause a rift among the Arabs and cause them to fight each other, while they stand as spectators.”

Meanwhile, a Tunisian national told Al Jazeera “that as long as US foreign policy remained the same, then it won’t matter to [Tunisians] who becomes the next US president”.