The Israeli prime minister capped off his D.C. visit with a series of meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including a one-on one with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). Much of the discussions centered on President Trump's suggestion that the U.S. take over and rebuild Gaza as the "Riviera of the Middle East" after Israel finishes off its war with Hamas.
Jan Markell, founder and director of Olive Tree Ministries, thinks the stretch of land would be in good hands.
"The thing that jumped out to me more than anything was the intensity with which Netanyahu said what a friend President Trump is to Israel," she tells AFN. "He said it with such conviction and such earnestness that you knew he was not just trying to make somebody feel good. He was expressing his heart."
She thinks Netanyahu and Israel see that Trump is trying to do the right thing with Gaza, and she is "very pleased" with the prospect.
"This is a long-term project, they're saying 10 to15 years," Markell notes. "Nothing's going to happen in the immediate future, so it's hard to say what's going to be the situation in 5,10, even 15 years out. I think that as long as Trump is the president, you'll see that this is done right."
She recognizes that the biggest question is where the almost two million Gazans will go. Because of the very nature of what has been going on there, Markell points out that "the other nations don't want them."
"You just can't go back," Trump has said. "If you go back, it's going to end up the same way it has for 100 years."
