Trump’s Israel Visit

TRUMP’S ISRAEL VISIT. It takes a lot of courage to visit Israel at this inopportune time. Usually, world leaders come to agreements ahead of time, and then make visits to announce good news. But this time Israel has declared it will launch a large Gaza offensive as soon as Trump leaves. A Houti bomb came close to hitting the airport where Trump will probably arrive and leave. Although Trump worked out a cease-fire with the Houtis, it doesn’t apply to Israel. And within Gaza, Israel has blocked food aid.

Food aid may present the thorniest issue. Denying food to your enemies by besieging them has served as a winning strategy of war for millennia. But Israel has long treated civilians more humanely than any other country. They have warned them away from war zones and targeted only military operations. Yet Hamas has often forced civilians back into war zones and put them in harm’s way. And stolen the food supplies meant for them. Still, Israel says the aid already distributed remains enough to several weeks.

Last month a Gallup poll found that 52% of Palestinians want to move away from Gaza. Recently, a Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll found 49% saying much the same. They would apply to Israel to help them relocate abroad. Only 39% said they had no plans to leave. In that same survey, 48% of Gazans supported the recent street protests against Hamas. Clearly, we are seeing significant support for a change of location so there can be a change of regime.

Enter Trump

But the thorny issues include how to make those changes. Enter Trump. He has already proposed clearing Gaza of rubble, mines and weapons and building a new Gaza. That seems to be meeting more favor with the Gazans themselves. Now he says, “We’re going to help the people of Gaza get some food… If you look, Hamas is making it impossible because they’re taking everything that’s brought in… But we’re going to help the people of Gaza because they’re being treated very badly by Hamas.”

Hamas is treating the remaining hostages even worse. Therefore Israel says it will keep taking more land back from Gaza until Hamas lets those people go. What else will motivate the captors to give them up? That’s another thorny question. So pray that God will show His answers in a way that the key players will agree and put them into effect.

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Photo: President_Trump_at_the_Israel_Museum._Jerusalem_May_23,_2017, from US Embassy