Gazan Aussies doubt peace as leaders praise Trump
Ben McKay, Callum Godde and Zac de Silva |
As Australian leaders hail US President Donald Trump’s “incredible achievement” to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, Palestinian Australians scoff, fearing a reprisal of Israeli attacks.
Not for the first time during Israel’s war with Hamas, there is a dissonance between the government’s position and those with on-the-ground ties to Gaza.
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said the return of Hamas-held hostages to Israel as part of the ceasefire was a “wonderful day” after an appalling tragedy.
“It is an incredible achievement on the part of Donald Trump and it is one that is very much going to be remembered by history,” he told Sky News on Tuesday.
As part of the deal, almost 2000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been freed by Israel.
A short-term Australian prisoner of Israel also came home on Tuesday, with aid flotilla captain Madeleine Habib returning to Hobart.
Ms Habib’s vessel Conscience was intercepted and she was taken and detained in “degrading conditions” for three days until her deportation to Jordan.
“We were kidnapped … but it’s nothing compared to what tens of thousands of Palestinians suffer,” she said.
Jewish Australians are optimistic the deal can lead to long-term peace.
Melbourne’s Jewish community packed into the Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre in Caulfield to sing, dance and watch a live stream of the scenes in Israel, including teary reunion between families.
The crowd of about 1000 cheered as Air Force One touched down at Ben Gurion Airport carrying Mr Trump, who addressed the Knesset after helping to broker the ceasefire.
Eda Klapisch, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, said her sense of relief was tinged with “terrible sadness” because of the damage done to Israeli and Palestinian society.
“No one wanted this,” she told AAP.
“No one wanted to be held for 738 days, nobody wanted to be bombed to smithereens.
“If we can find peace, the people of Israel will be the first ones in line to sign.”
Palestinian Australians are deeply sceptical of long-term peace, given the history of oppression and the scale of the devastation.
“The ceasefire itself is just ink on paper,” said Hiba Farra, of Friends of Palestine WA.
Ms Farra, who has seen hundreds of extended family members killed in the two-year war, takes issue with the Australian government’s praise of Mr Trump as the peacemaker.
“Donald Trump can take credit for all the weaponry he’s been supplied with to commit the genocide,” she said.
The ceasefire marks the possible end to a military offensive on Gaza that killed more than 67,000 people and 20,000 children, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Given the scale of the loss and widespread devastation, Ms Farra said she did not share the hope expressed by others.
“It’s a very bleak picture. Very bleak. I wish I had hope. I haven’t got it,” she said.
Sydney man Fathi Ayman, formerly of Gaza, said he carried a sense of relief.
“We’ve been here before. The thing we wish the most is that it holds,” he said.
“My number one goal is family safety.”
He too disagreed with Mr Trump’s role of peacemaker, saying that was “a Western world” belief, and “he could have been the peacemaker a while back”.
Another Jewish Australian, Malka Lawrence, said the moment was a “huge relief” mixed with disbelief at the inaction from local and international politicians during the past two years.
“They could have stopped all this,” she said, noting not all hostages were being returned alive.
“So there’s enormous gratitude … but there’s still shock horror that we had to go through those two years.”
The Melburnian was confident the Jewish community across the globe could let bygones be bygones.
“They’re wonderful at forgiving and forgetting,” Ms Lawrence said.
“Look at our relationship with Germany. We move on and we’re such amazingly resilient people.”
AAP
