On today’s 700 Club, Rev. Pat Robertson blamed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s recent stroke on God’s “enmity against those who ‘divide my land,’” an implicit reference to recent steps the Prime Minister has taken to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“For any prime Minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says ‘no, this is mine.’ … He was dividing God’s land and I would say woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course,” Robertson said.

“Once again, Pat Robertson leaves us speechless with his insensitivity and arrogance,” People For the American Way Foundation President Ralph G. Neas said. “It is astonishing that Pat Robertson still wields substantial influence in this White House and national Republican Party politics. With our nation at war and the unstable political situation throughout the Middle East, it is essential for the President of the United States to immediately disavow these irresponsible, inflammatory statements.”

Robertson is a prominent right-wing televangelist in the United States. He is the founder of both the Christian Coalition and the American Center for Law and Justice, which advocates for the confirmation of right-wing judicial nominees.

The transcript of the Robertson comments follows:

Transcript

Ladies and Gentlemen I said last year that Israel was entering into the most dangerous periods of its entire existence as a nation. That is intensifying this year with the loss of Sharon. Sharon was personally a very likeable person and I am sad to see him in this condition, but I think we need to look at the Bible and the Book of Joel. The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who “divide my land.” God considers this land to be His. You read the Bible and He says “this is my land” and for any Prime Minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says “no, this is mine.” I had a wonderful meeting with Yitzhak Rabin in 1974. He was tragically assassinated, it was a terrible thing that happened but nevertheless he was dead. And now Ariel Sharon who again was a very likeable person, a delightful person to be with, I prayed with him personally, but here he’s at the point of death. He was dividing God’s land and I would say woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU, the United Nations, or the United States of America. God says “this land belongs to me. You’d better leave it alone.”