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Tag: Middle

Marco Rubio arrives in Israel on first trip to Middle East as U.S. secretary of state

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel late on Saturday on his first trip to the Middle East, after a widely condemned proposal by President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump first floated the suggestion that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza on January 25, a proposal they strongly opposed.

TRUMP’S GAZA RELOCATION PROPOSAL SPARKS HEATED DEBATE AMONG PALESTINIANS: ‘NO LIFE LEFT HERE’

In a shock announcement on February 4, after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Trump proposed resettling Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinians and the U.S. taking control and ownership of the demolished seaside enclave, redeveloping it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

On February 10, he said Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his plan, contradicting his own officials who had suggested Gazans would only be relocated temporarily.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 15, 2025. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool)

The U.S. president’s comments echoed long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes and were labeled as a proposal of ethnic cleansing by some critics.

U.S. ally Israel’s military assault on Gaza, now paused by a fragile ceasefire, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in the last 16 months, the Gaza health ministry says, and provoked accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.

The assault internally displaced nearly all of Gaza’s population and caused a hunger crisis.

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The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking some 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.

Rubio will discuss Gaza and the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel during the trip, and will pursue Trump’s approach of trying to disrupt the status quo in the region, a State Department official said last week.

February 15, 2025
People pounce on Rick Warren for tweet about Jesus: “you’ll find him in the middle”

Rick Warren faced a raft of backlash on X in response to a post in which he referred to the two thieves who were crucified on either side of Jesus, and declared, “If you’re looking for the #realJesus, not a caricature disfigured by partisan motivations, you’ll find him in the middle, not on either side.”

Warren, the author of the popular book “The Purpose Driven Life,” founded Saddleback Church with his wife Kay in 1980, according to pastorrick.com.

His Feb. 11 post has earned thousands of replies and more than 3 million views.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE ORDER CREATING TASK FORCE TO ‘ERADICATE ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIAS’

Pastor Rick Warren attends a ceremony honoring actress/producer Roma Downey with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Aug. 11, 2016 in Hollywood, Calif. (Tommaso Boddi/WireImage)

Seth Dillon, the CEO of the satire site the Babylon Bee, sarcastically quipped, “Yeah, because if there’s one thing Jesus was known for, it was his desire to meet in the middle and compromise on the issues that matter most.”

“This is possibly the worst Biblical interpretation I’ve ever seen, and that’s really saying something,” conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey declared. “Jesus is not ‘in the middle’ on the murder of children, gender deception, the definition of marriage, or anything else, for that matter. In fact, I seem to remember Him having a particular disdain for the lukewarm.”

CANDACE CAMERON BURE FEELS PEOPLE ARE ‘LESS AFRAID OF BEING CANCELED’ IN HOLLYWOOD FOR THEIR FAITH

Pastor Rick Warren and presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., join hands during the Civil Forum on the Presidency at the Saddleback Church Aug. 16, 2008 in Lake Forest, Calif. (David McNew/Getty Images)

“What happens when the authorial intent of a biblical text is discarded? The text becomes a wax nose, bent according to our own intent. Case in point,” Brad Klassen, a professor at The Master’s Seminary, wrote regarding Warren’s post.

David Limbaugh, the brother of the late conservative radio icon Rush Limbaugh, tweeted, “Meaningless mush,” adding, “with all due respect.”

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS REJECT RICK WARREN-FOUNDED CHURCH’S APPEAL OF OUSTER OVER FEMALE PASTORS

President George W. Bush (R) talks with Dr. Rick Warren, founder of the Saddleback Church, before receiving the International Medal of PEACE during the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health at the Newseum Dec. 1, 2008 in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

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In his most recent tweet prior to the one that came under so much scrutiny, Warren had written, “Jesus: “Whoever #serves me must #FOLLOW me.” Jn 12:26,” adding, “Seems obvious, right? But while serving Jesus in ministry, we can stop #following Him! Instead, we start following politicians, podcasters, or peers-and our vision, values & priorities come from social media, not Jesus. #bad”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

February 13, 2025
Trump remains committed to US owning Gaza, says Middle East states could help rebuild war-torn area

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he remains committed to the U.S. purchasing and owning Gaza, but that he may allow Middle Eastern countries to rebuild sections of the area ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

Trump made the comment when speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to New Orleans for the Super Bowl.

“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza,” Trump said. “As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it, other people may do it, through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back.”

“There’s nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site. The remainder will be demolished. Everything’s demolished,” he said.

SAUDI ARABIA CONTRADICTS TRUMP, VOWS NO TIES WITH ISRAEL WITHOUT CREATION OF PALESTINIAN STATE

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP)

The president also said he was open to the possibility of allowing some Palestinian refugees into the U.S. but that those requests would be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Trump said last week at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants the U.S. to take over Gaza after Palestinians are resettled in other countries.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump said at the time. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.”

“Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” he added. “Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.”

‘LEVEL IT’: TRUMP SAYS US WILL ‘TAKE OVER’ GAZA STRIP, REBUILD IT TO STABILIZE MIDDLE EAST

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to Joint Base Andrews on Jan. 27, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt listens. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Several countries have criticized Trump’s comments about taking over Gaza, which was bombarded by Israeli forces in the conflict sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack against the Jewish State.

Trump also said on Jan. 25 that he wanted Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations to accept more Palestinian refugees from Gaza, potentially moving out enough people to “just clean out” the area.

“You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over,’” he said at the time.

Palestinians feared during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which is now under a ceasefire, that they would suffer from another “Nakba,” meaning catastrophe in Arabic, which refers to the displacement and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1948 war at the birth of the State of Israel.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo when asked about Trump’s plan to take over Gaza that the U.S. president was slated to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and possibly Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C. on January 31, 2025. (BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

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“President Trump is due to meet with major, major Arab leaders, first and foremost the king of Jordan and the president of Egypt and I think also the crown prince of Saudi Arabia as well,” Herzog said.

“These are partners that must be listened to, they must be discussed with. We have to honor their feelings as well and see how we build a plan that is sustainable for the future,” he added.

Saudi Arabia is among the many countries that have rejected Trump’s plan to take over Gaza. Jordan’s King Abdullah II reportedly plans to tell Trump during their scheduled meeting on Tuesday that the proposal is a recipe for radicalism that will spread chaos throughout the Middle East and put at risk the kingdom’s peace with Israel.

Reuters contributed to this report.

February 10, 2025
Rubio to visit Middle East for second trip as secretary of state

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the Middle East for a few days beginning next week for his second trip at the head of the State Department.

Rubio will visit Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Fox News confirmed on Thursday.

While an itinerary has not yet been released, Rubio’s impending visit to the Middle East comes at a pivotal time in foreign policy, as Israel and Hamas are implementing a three-stage ceasefire agreement after 16 months of war in Gaza.

During a joint news conference in the Dominican Republic with President Luis Abinader on Thursday, Rubio said President Donald Trump has offered to be part of the solution to rebuild Gaza.

PANAMA PLEDGES TO END KEY CANAL DEAL WITH CHINA, WORK WITH US AFTER RUBIO VISIT

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit four countries in the Middle East next week for his second trip in his new role. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Trump suggested on Wednesday that the U.S. take control of the Gaza Strip in order to rehabilitate the territory to a livable location as most of the area has been decimated and millions are displaced.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that under Trump’s proposal, Palestinians would be “temporarily” relocated in order to successfully level and rebuild.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on board with the proposed plan, describing it as “remarkable” and “the first good idea that [he’s] heard.”

“President Trump is taking it to a much higher level,” Netanyahu said from the White House with Trump on Wednesday. “He sees a different future for that piece of land that has been the focus of so much terrorism, so much, so many attacks against us, so many, so many trials and so many tribulations. He has a different idea, and I think it’s worth paying attention to this.”

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answer questions during a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

RUBIO REFUSES TO VISIT SOUTH AFRICA FOR G-20 SUMMIT, ACCUSES GOVERNMENT OF ‘DOING VERY BAD THINGS’

Rubio said “there are a lot of countries in the world that like to express concern about Gaza and the Palestinian people, but very few [were] willing, in the past, to do anything concrete about it.”

Gaza, which is run by Hamas terrorists, is not only uninhabitable because of the destruction from the war with Israel, but because of unexploded munitions, rockets and weapons that plague the land, Rubio said, adding that “it needs to be dealt with.”

“If some other country is willing to step forward and do it themselves, that would be great, but no one seems to be rushing forward to do that and that has to happen,” Rubio said Thursday.

Palestinians continue to return to what is left of their homes in Gaza City, Gaza, after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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The secretary of state said he thinks Trump proposed the Gaza takeover idea in hopes of getting a reaction from countries who “have the economic and technological capacity to contribute to a post-conflict region.”

As of Friday morning, no other country has spoken out about a potential plan to rehabilitate Gaza.

February 7, 2025
Middle East expert says Israel and the US are back on the same page — but that doesn’t mean Hamas is deterred

President Donald Trump made a massive shift in Washington’s stance towards Israel and the Middle East, proposing a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip.

“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 dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” President Trump said during a joint presser with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST ENVOY EXPLAINS GAZA TAKEOVER PROPOSAL: ‘MORE HOPE’ FOR PALESTINIANS’ FUTURES

Nearly 16 months after Hamas’ surprise attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been grappling with the aftermath of the onslaught as it continues to fight the terror regime in control of Gaza. For much of the war, the question has been what will happen when Hamas is no longer in control, but through his surprise declaration, President Trump has given the Israelis an answer.

Even before he was officially in the Oval Office, Trump’s threat of “all hell to pay” seemed to work on Hamas, as the terror organization released hostages for the first time since November 2023.

“There is clearly a sense that Jerusalem and Washington are on the same page, illustrated by Netanyhu’s upcoming visit to DC and being the first foreign dignitary to be invited to the White House since the election,” Scholars for Peace in the Middle East Executive Director Asaf Romirowsky told Fox News Digital on Monday.

“The Trump administration is clearly helping on the hostage front and part of the discussions in DC this week will center on resuming the war and the rest of the hostages,” Romirowsky added.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answer questions during a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2025.

Despite the multiple rounds of hostage releases, Romirowsky is skeptical whether the terror organization is feeling the weight of the U.S. government.

“As far as Hamas goes it is not in their nature to be deterred by any U.S. government and they will try to push their agenda through Qatar and others,” Romirowsky said. “That said, Israel seems to be getting the military support they need and the hope is that it also continues as it relates the war in Gaza and the Middle East at large.”

Prior to leaving office in 2020, President Trump launched an initiative that seemed to have peace breaking out in the Middle East. Aimed at creating peaceful relationships between Arab nations and Israel, the Abraham Accords included the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Many speculated that a treaty with Saudi Arabia was on the horizon.

“There is no doubt that the goal is to expand the Abraham Accords especially as it relates to Saudi Arabia,” Romirowsky said. “Saudi-Israel relations are also linked regarding their shared security concerns as they relate to Iran.”

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2025. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

IF IRAN ATTEMPTS ASSASSINATION, ‘THEY GET OBLITERATED’: PRESIDENT TRUMP

Ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump signed an executive order ending U.S. engagement with the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Former President Joe Biden halted the funding of UNRWA following reports that some of the agency’s staff participated in the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel. Additionally, freed hostage Emily Damari, who was taken from her home in Kfar Aza, said she was held in UNRWA facilities, and that Hamas denied her medical care after shooting her twice.

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In the joint presser with Netanyahu, Trump described the UNHRC as “antisemitic.” President Trump also withdrew from the UNHRC during his first term. In 2021, the Biden administration rejoined the controversial international body.

Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.

February 5, 2025
‘Level it’: Trump says US will ‘take over’ Gaza strip and rebuild it to stabilize Middle East

The U.S. will “take over the Gaza strip,” level it and rebuild the area, President Donald Trump said during a press conference Tuesday evening after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said Tuesday evening in a joint press conference with Netanyahu. “We’ll own it, and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.”

“Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.”

Netanyahu is the first world leader to meet with Trump at the White House under his second administration.

When asked about taking over the Gaza Strip, Trump said he could see the U.S. in a “long term ownership position” of the piece of land, which would likely bring stability to the Middle East.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, left, and US President Donald Trump during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. Trump insisted Egypt and Jordan will take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, dismissing the countries’ refusal to accept people from the war-shattered territory. Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty Images)

“I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East, and maybe the entire Middle East. And everybody I’ve spoken to — this was not a decision made lightly — 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 in a really magnificent area that nobody would know. Nobody can look because all they see is death and destruction and rubble,” Trump said.

The pair discussed the current ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and its future, Iran’s grip on the Middle East and resettling Gaza residents in other nations.

“In our meetings today, the prime minister and I focused on the future, discussing how we can work together to ensure Hamas is eliminated and ultimately restore peace to a very troubled region. It’s been troubled, but what’s happened in the last four years has not been good,” Trump said during the press conference.

Trump said that the Gaza Strip has become “a symbol of death and destruction for so many decades and so bad for the people anywhere near it.”

“It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have really stood there and fought for it and lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there,” he added.

Netanyahu lauded Trump’s tenacity and ability “to think outside the box” during his comments to the press.

“Your willingness to puncture conventional thinking, thinking that has failed time and time and time again, your willingness to think outside the box with fresh ideas, will help us achieve all these goals,” he said. “And I’ve seen you do this many times. You cut to the chase. You see things others refuse to see. You say things others refuse to say, you know. And after the jaws drop, people scratch their heads and they say, you know, he’s right.”

The Israeli leader continued that his nation’s victory will also be a win for America.

“Israel’s victory will be America’s victory,” Netanyahu said. “We will not only win the war working together, we will win the peace. With your leadership, Mr. President, and our partnership, I believe that we will forge a brilliant future for our region and bring our great alliance to even greater heights.”

February 5, 2025