This article was updated Feb. 6 to include comments from the Keep God’s Land coalition.
Christian leaders were noticeably silent Tuesday as President Donald Trump shocked the world by proposing the United States “take over” Gaza and expel all Palestinians living there.
Baptist News Global searched for any national religious leader commenting on the president’s suggestion and found few — not even from those evangelical leaders who typically enthusiastically support the president.
Tony Perkins
A small coalition of far-right Jewish and Christian leaders did, however, express support for Trump’s idea. That group includes Tony Perkins, head of Family Research Council and a former chairman of the U.S. Committee for International Religious Freedom.
Other signatories on the letter from a group called Keep God’s Land included former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman; former U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, now dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University; Rabbi Tuly Weisz, founder of Israel365; Mario Bramnick of the Conference of Christian Presidents for Israel; Rabbi Yaakov Menken of the Coalition for Jewish Values; Luke Moon of the Philos Project; and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, executive director of Israel365 Action.
The letter to Trump states: “Mr. President, this plan is one more example of your courageous common sense leadership, your compassionate concern for the plight of those who are suffering, and your steadfast commitment to justice. Simply put, your plan for the relocation of Gazan civilians is the right thing to do, legally, historically, and morally.
“Mr. President, we know that there are many who will attack your bold plan. But as the Bible teaches us, moral clarity always comes under attack.”
Other evangelical leaders remained silent. Politicians, however, were not so quiet.
Sen. Lindsey Graham: “I think that would be an interesting proposal. We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that. I think most South Carolinians would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza. It might be problematic.”
“I think most South Carolinians would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza.”
Sen. Chris Murphy: “He’s totally lost it. A U.S. invasion of Gaza would lead to the slaughter of thousands of U.S. troops and decades of war in the Middle East. It’s like a bad, sick joke.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell: “Wait what? The U.S. is going to occupy Gaza? We were promised no more endless wars. By my count we are occupying Greenland, Canada, Panama Canal, and now … Gaza?”
Rep. Nancy Mace: “Let’s turn Gaza into Mar-A-Lago.”
Rep. Diana Harshbarger: “This is what the leader of the free world looks like, folks. President Trump campaigned on securing peace in Gaza, and he’s doing just that. Promises made, promises kept — it’ll never get old.”
Even on X — Elon Musk’s platform formerly known as Twitter that is a home to the political right — average people mainly expressed shock and suspicion about Trump’s comments. Some samples:
- “I have supported Trump until now but Trump is wrong on this and he will be responsible for the future American victims. Help Israel but I don’t want Americans to sacrifice for GAZA. It is not essential for the USA. This is not a way to Make American Great Again. Huge mistake.”
- “You have no right to talk about bringing peace to Gaza because you have killed and participated in the war of genocide. Instead, you should apologize to the Palestinian people and the world, compensate the Palestinians, and rebuild Gaza.”
- “And just like that, Genocide Joe became Genocide Don. Trump won’t be happy until he’s murdered every child in Gaza unless they get off his land. Natural born killer.”
The New York Times summarized the news of the day thus: “President Trump declared on Tuesday that the United States should seize control of Gaza and permanently displace the entire Palestinian population of the devastated seaside enclave, one of the most brazen ideas that any American leader has advanced in years.”
Trump made the comment while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
The U.S. president said all 2 million Palestinians from Gaza should be moved to Egypt and Jordan or other nearby countries.
Trump explained: “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible” for disposing of unexploded munitions and rebuilding Gaza into a mecca for jobs and tourism.
Trump vowed to turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Map of Israel, Gaza and West Bank (Shutterstock)
Even Trump’s evangelical base appeared not to have seen this move coming. That group is decidedly pro-Israel and is highly supportive of Netanyahu’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is Trump’s nominee as ambassador to Israel, has been largely absent from social media ever since his nomination. Other than a recent video endorsement from his daughter, Huckabee’s X account has had no new posts since Nov. 14, the day Trump nominated him as ambassador.
As BNG previously reported, Huckabee said in 2008 while campaigning for the presidency that there is “no such thing as a Palestinian” and Palestinian identity is “a political tool to try and force land away from Israel.”
Mike Huckabee in 2016. (Photo by Johnny Louis/WireImage)
In a 2017 interview on CNN, Huckabee said: “There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
Of Gaza’s checkered history, The Times explains: “Gaza has a long and tortured history of conflict and crisis. Many Gazans are descendants of Palestinians who were forced out of their homes during the 1948 war after Israel’s independence, an event known around the Arab world as the Nakba, or catastrophe. Now Mr. Trump is suggesting that they be displaced again, even though the Geneva Conventions — international agreements that the United States and Israel both ratified — bar forcible relocation of populations.”
The Gaza Strip as it is known today — an area 25 miles long and 4 to 5 miles wide — was created in the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. Its boundaries were set in the Egyptian-Israeli armistice agreement of Feb. 24, 1949.
Christian Zionists have played an oversized role in establishing and supporting the modern state of Israel since the end of World War II. Some evangelicals believe the restoration of Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular is necessary to bring about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
In his Feb. 4 news conference with Netanyahu, Trump sounded like the real estate developer he is.
Gaza is “a big pile of rubble right now,” he said. “I don’t know how (the Palestinians) could want to stay. It’s a demolition site. It’s a pure demolition site.”
On the other hand, “If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places with plenty of money in the area, that’s for sure. I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza.”
And what would happen to the pile of rubble in Gaza?
“I do see a long-term ownership position” for the United States, Trump said. “Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.”
Across social media, Trump’s critics dismissed his comments as “insane” and “nuts” and something that never will happen. However, these same critics accused Trump of making the outrageous comment to distract attention from his ill-fated attempts to impose heavy tariffs on Canada and Mexico two days earlier.
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