President Donald Trump’s break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza followed growing criticism of Israel from his conservative supporters—and now the UK has joined other allies, threatening to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel takes steps to end its siege in Gaza.
FILE - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, is greeted by President Donald Trump as he ... More
Israel struck Gaza’s only Catholic Church and killed three Palestinians, drawing condemnation from Pope Leo—but also criticism from MAGA world fixtures Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and conservative political commentator Michael Knowles of The Daily Wire, who told Haaretz “the Israeli government is really screwing up” and saying the “horrific war must come to a complete end.”
Escalating violence against Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip have also split Trump’s backers over U.S. support for Israel, with Mike Huckabee—the U.S. Ambassador to Israel—condemning settler violence against the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh.
Greene called for an end to Israel’s ongoing siege in Gaza on X, calling “what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza” horrific and reiterating her support to cut $500 million in defense funding to Israel.
Popular “manosphere” podcaster Theo Von, who interviewed Trump on his podcast “This Past Weekend” during the 2024 presidential campaign and earned partial credit for helping him secure the support of key young male voters, called for the Trump administration to “please get aid into GAZA NOW” in a post on X, stating “Children are starving to death” and, “This isn’t about politics. This is about humanity.”
At a meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, Trump notably disagreed with Netanyahu’s claim of no starvation in Gaza and said Israel “has a lot of responsibility” for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
During an Ohio visit, Vice President JD Vance also called images of starving children from Gaza “heartbreaking,” adding that it is “up to the Israelis and up to the Gulf Arab states” to take initiative and allow aid into Gaza and accused Hamas of preventing food from coming in.
On X, Greene again called the “genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza” horrific, and slammed Florida Rep. Randy Fine “disgraceful” for “calling for the continued starvation of innocent people” after he posted, “Release the hostages. Until then, starve away.”
Steve Bannon, MAGA mainstay and Trump’s former White House adviser, seemed to warn Trump by telling Playbook “Israel has almost no support” from the “under-30-year-old MAGA base,” and said Trump’s rejection of Netanyahu’s “Gaza strategy—‘starving’ Palestinians—will only hasten a collapse of support.”
Following an emergency meeting on Gaza a day after Trump’s visit to the UK, Starmer’s cabinet reportedly said it will formally recognize Palestinian statehood in September unless Israel commits to a ceasefire and a two-state solution—after Trump signaled he did “not mind” the UK taking a stance on the issue.
Conservative and especially evangelical backlash over the last few weeks, in addition to growing malnutrition in Gaza, started as a response to Israel’s escalated violence against Palestinian Christian communities. After striking Gaza’s Catholic Church, Republican lawmakers openly condemned Israel, including Sen. Lindsey Graham who told Jewish Insider “When you have Christian churches under siege in Gaza and the West Bank, it needs to stop.” Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., condemned the strike on X, urgingIsrael to avoid targeting Christian sites. Huckabee denounced the rising attacks in Taybeh as “unacceptable.”
Joe Rogan has openly criticized Israel for bombing Palestinians waiting for food near aid distribution centers in Gaza, reportedly refused to bring Netanyahu on his podcast, according to claims from the prime minister’s son, Yair Netanyahu. Rogan interviewed Trump while he was on the campaign trail last year, and like Von, was credited for helping secure key voters. Comedian Andrew Schultz, who voted for Trump in the 2024 election, criticized Trump on his podcast on July 10 for not delivering on his promises to “stop the wars,” saying he is instead “funding them.”
Netanyahu has repeatedly said there is “no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza,” adding that Israel has enabled the flow of humanitarian aid “throughout the duration of the war.” But there is “mounting evidence” of “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” the U.N. said Tuesday. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Palestinians in Gaza “are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.” Traditional U.S. allies have begun to pressure Israel as well. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Monday that stopping starvation in Gaza is a “moral, political and humanitarian imperative” as Spain’s military plans to drop 12 tons of food in Gaza this week, joining the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, Al Jazeera reported. Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would recognize Palestine as an independent state in an effort to revive the two-state solution, with the UK saying it would recognize Palestinian statehood by September unless the Gaza siege ends.