Trump Is Wrong on Gaza

 Although I support most of what President Trump has been doing during his first days in office, and while I fully support Israel, Trump’s comments on Gaza yesterday left me shaking my head. Of course, Trump says many things, and it is what he does that counts, but I cannot fathom why he would even think of getting involved in Gaza let alone “take over” Gaza as he said.

Personally, I don’t want to see one American dime spent to rebuild Gaza, and I certainly don’t want to see US troops in Gaza (unless they became absolutely necessary to defend Israel, which is not an issue at this time.) Has Trump forgotten what happened when we had troops in Lebanon in the 1980s? Has he forgotten the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia? Why should we spend our treasure and our blood on Gaza?  The first day American troops arrive in Gaza. they will be targets for the terrorists of Hamas and its sympathizers. Trump campaigned on a promise to prevent future foreign adventures-not to mention the humiliation and loss of life on the day when we exited Afghanistan. 

As for his suggestion that the Gazans all be relocated, that is a no-win for us diplomatically. If it is to happen, let the Israelis do it in coordination with countries (hopefully in the Arab world) willing to receive them. Of course, therein lies the problem. Nations like Egypt and Jordan (the natural choices) don’t want them. They know from personal experience that the Palestinians are nothing but problems. Do you remember the Black September mess in Jordan? Just like with the Syrians, the Iraqis, and the Afghans, the Middle East refuses to accept these people as long as they can pass them off to the gullible West. With everything going on in Europe and America with “refugees” and “asylum-seekers”, an influx of thousands of Palestinians into our countries is the last thing we need. What will they bring with them other than their hatred for Jews? Think of the effect on our already-plagued college campuses when these children show up as college students.

I hate to be blunt, but Gaza is Israel’s problem. I fully support their military action there after October 7, 2023, but the rebuilding of Gaza is not America’s responsibility. What to do with the Gaza population is not America’s responsibility. The best thing Trump can do is use this statement from yesterday as some sort of wedge to get Egypt and Jordan to accept the Gazans if that’s possible. The accusations of “ethnic cleansing” are already starting. While there is precedent for mass removals (think ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe after World War 2 and the driving out of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Arab lands in 1948), I can already see the accusations against the US in the UN and the International Criminal Court for “ethnic cleansing”. We don’t need all that. In short, we don’t need the headaches.

Trump would be wise to reconsider the idea of getting involved in Gaza. If there is a solution to Gaza, I don’t know what it is. Leave it to Israel and its neighbors to hash out.