Salvadoran president of Palestinian descent says Hamas terrorists are 'savage beasts' and should 'completely disappear'

Two days after the deadly Hamas attacks on the southern Gaza border Israel, President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele condemned the terror group in a statement, saying the organization should “completely disappear.”

“As a Salvadoran with Palestinian ancestry, I'm sure the best thing that could happen to the Palestinian people is for Hamas to completely disappear,” the 42-year-old president posted to X, formerly Twitter. “Those savage beasts do not represent the Palestinians.”

Bukele, whose paternal grandparents were Palestinian Christians, went on to say that “anyone who supports the Palestinian cause would make a great mistake siding with those criminals.”

Likening Hamas terrorists to murderous MS-13 gang members, Bukele urged his fellow Palestinians and others to oppose Hamas.

“It would be like if Salvadorans would have sided with MS13 terrorists, just because we share ancestors or nationality,” Bukele continued.

“The best thing that happened to us as a nation was to get rid of those rapists and murderers, and let the good people thrive. Palestinians should do the same: get rid of those animals and let the good people thrive. That's the only way forward.”

Bukele has become internationally known for his crackdowns on criminal gangs within El Salvador. I

More than 70,000 have been jailed so far in his government's fight against gang violence and crime in the country.

When Bukele took office in 2019, the homicide rate in El Salvador was at about 36 incidents per 100,000 people. In 2023, that number has decreased by more than 90%, estimated to be just 2.4 in 100,000.

The son of a Muslim imam, and the husband of a wife with Jewish ancestry, Bukele has publicly stated he is a believer in Jesus Christ.

“Personally, I am not a person who believes much in the liturgy of religions,” he has said.

“However, I believe in God, in Jesus Christ. I believe in His word, I believe in His word revealed in the Holy Bible.”

In a Facebook post during his 2019 presidential campaign, Bukele wrote that he has a personal relationship with God.

“My relationship with God is personal and my salvation is something between God and me,” he wrote.

“And I know that I will never be able to pay it, no matter how hard I try. Because it is a gift that He gives to whoever wants to receive it.”

In the same post, Bukele said that he trusted God with the outcome of his election, referencing a line written by the Hebrew prophet Daniel, which says that God “deposes kings and raises up others.” (Daniel 2:21 ESV).

Consistent with Christian teaching, Bukele has publicly stated that marriage is between “a man and a woman,” and has condemned abortion as “genocide.”