RSS
Trump Vows to Deport Hamas Supporters During ‘Stop Antisemitism’ Event, Unveils New Initiative for Jewish Voters
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, April 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Former US President Donald Trump vowed to deport foreign supporters of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas if he’s re-elected to the White House during an event centered on anti-Jewish hate on Thursday.
While speaking at the “Stop Antisemitism” event in New Jersey, the Republican presidential nominee vowed to remove pro-Hamas activists from the United States.
“We will deport the foreign jihad sympathizers, and we will deport them very quickly. And Hamas supporters will be gone,” Trump said. “If you hate America, if you want to eliminate Israel, then we don’t want you in our country. We really don’t want you in our country.”
Trump also promised to ban refugees from Hamas-ruled Gaza, arguing that they would pose a terror threat to the US. He also vowed to arrest anti-Israel agitators who engage in vandalism or violent acts.
“I will ban refugee settlements from terror-infested areas like the Gaza Strip, and we will arrest the pro-Hamas thugs who vandalize federal property and make life very difficult in this country for a lot of people,” Trump continued.
Republican lawmakers have raised alarm bells at the prospect of resettling refugees from Gaza, the Palestinian enclave bordering Israel to the south. Last month, six Republican senators sent a letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting an increase of security measures along the northern border in response to Canada accepting an influx of refugees from Gaza. The senators wrote that they were “deeply concerned” that Gazan refugees could sneak into the United States.
In the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people throughout southern Israel, Republicans have scrambled to secure more support from Jewish voters, sensing growing tensions between Democrats and the traditionally-liberal voting bloc.
In an attempt to lure more Jewish voters, Trump’s campaign announced the launch of “Jewish Voices for Trump” this week. The Republican nominee’s campaign described the initiative as “a coalition of thought leaders, business trailblazers, former administration officials, authors, influencers, and those within the Jewish community.”
“While the world has fallen into chaos with [US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala] Harris, President Trump’s Abraham Accords chartered new territory in regional stability, not just for Israel, but for the world. With President Trump we knew we had a White House that stood with Israel, and a president who defended the Jewish people,” the group’s mission statement read.
Though Democrats largely voiced support for Israel’s defensive military operations against Hamas in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, high-profile liberal politicians have gradually expressed more criticism against the Jewish state. Prominent Democratic lawmakers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) suggested that Israel’s war in Gaza could be tantamount to a “genocide.” A group of 30 House Democrats sent a letter to US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging them to “reconsider” arms shipments to Israel and arguing that the Jewish state has not taken proper precautions to preserve civilian life while targeting Hamas.
Recent polling indicates that Jewish voters may be shifting to Trump in record-breaking numbers, suggesting that the former president’s overtures could be working. Jewish voters prefer Harris over Trump by a margin of 52.7 percent to 45.9 percent, according to the survey conducted by pollster Richard Baris.
The post Trump Vows to Deport Hamas Supporters During ‘Stop Antisemitism’ Event, Unveils New Initiative for Jewish Voters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.