by S. Zangana
Evidently, President Donald Trump’s 100 days in office are passing without any progressive to end the Israeli-Hamas war. Indeed, some Arab and Muslim leaders in the U.S endorsed Trump during his campaign in Michigan in October 2024, as they stood up on the stage and publicly declared their support for him. “We, as Muslims, stand with President Trump because he promises peace – he promises peace, not war,” Said Imam Belal Alzuhairi, one of the Muslim Clerics in Michigan.
Obviously, ending the Gaza war was not as simple as Trump pictured it during his presidential campaign and interviews. Now, the war in Gaza is continuing and the lives of innocent people are diminishing. The Israeli-Hamas war which was the subsequent to the Hamas’ heinous attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has affected both Jews and Muslims and became a major catastrophe in the region.
President Trump has not been able to implement a fertile strategy to bring peace to Gaza and end the war. Instead, in February 2025, Trump proposed the U.S to take ownership of Gaza and rebuild it to become a touristic area. “ Everybody I have 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 reality…” Trump said.
In fact, such a proposal has outraged many Arabs and Americans, including the members of the government. Sen. Thom Tillis, (R.NC) said, “Obviously it’s not going to happen. I don’t know under what circumstance it would make sense even, even for Israel.” The question is: What right the U.S or even any country has to confiscate a piece of land belonging to other people?
In a clear language Sen. Chris Coons (D.Del) expressed his concern regarding Trump’s idea of the U.S owning Gaza, “That’s insane.” He said.
The Gaza war was, and still is, a tremendous issue for Arab American voters in the U.S, and apparently, Trump’s promises to end the war drove some of the traditional Arab and Muslim Democrat voters in America reluctantly to make a U-turn and vote for him. Simply, the 100 days of Trump’s presidency and the failure to end the Israeli-Hamas war can be analyzed as, first, his influence in the Middle East was overestimated, as analysts expected that Trump’s win will shift the situation in the region and ends the war, second, Trump was not able to revive the ephemeral ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It is noteworthy that the ceasefire went into effect on January 19, 2025, but after a few hostage exchanges, Israel and Hamas resumed their strikes.
Trump has not been able to implement an effective policy in the Middle East as it was anticipated prior to the election. Seemingly, Arab and Muslim Americans will redirect their vote back to Democratic candidates, which will be reflected in the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump also was not able to fulfill his promises to end the war and stop the bloodshed of both Jews and Palestinians. Obviously, the reality of the Middle East and the complication of its conflict cannot be resolved in just simple promises. Unfortunately, in addition to 100 days of President Trump being in office, there will be more days to pass, and the ongoing Middle East’s conflict will not end.
After all, while President Trump optimistically speaks about his accomplishment in 100 days, many people are disappointed as there is no indication for peace in the Middle East.
