(RNS) — American Jewish institutions offered a mostly muted response to President Donald Trump’s startling proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and drive its Palestinian residents to neighboring countries.
Trump’s announcement that the United States could take a “long-term ownership position” over the strip, made during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (Feb. 4), was immediately opposed by Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, and by Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority. The leaders of Egypt and Jordan had already rejected the idea of taking in Palestinians. (On Wednesday, Trump’s spokespeople softened key elements of his proposal to “take over” Gaza. They said Trump had not committed to using U.S. troops and that any relocation of Palestinians would be temporary.)
But American Jewish institutions, which had been warming to Trump in recent months, were mostly caught without a response.
The American Jewish Committee, a staunch supporter of Israel, issued a statement saying the president’s plan raises “a wealth of questions.”
“AJC, long committed to advancing Israel’s integration in a peaceful and prosperous Middle East and to a pragmatic resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, equally has concerns about the impact of the President’s Gaza proposal on regional cooperation and stability.”
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