Australia says Trump plan for Gaza ‘represents hope’

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Australia has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza as one that “represents hope”, but questioned if Hamas will accept the ultimatum delivered to get the terror outfit to agree to the deal.

The 20-point plan revealed at a Washington meeting with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu does not say anything concrete about Palestinian statehood. Crucially, however, it does not rule out a two-state solution that Australia and many other nations emphasise as a requirement for peace.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles cautiously welcomes the Trump plan.

“I do think the plan represents hope,” Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said on ABC Radio Melbourne on Tuesday morning, about three weeks ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s first formal talks with Trump.

“Our view ultimately is that the only way that there will be an enduring peace in the Middle East is if there are two states. And again, the plan as it’s been articulated keeps the door open for all of that.”

Marles questioned if Hamas would agree to Trump’s demand to throw down their arms and release hostages within 72 hours of Israel accepting the terms of the deal, but added: “I think we’ll see that question being answered over the coming hours and days”.

“We obviously have been extremely critical of Hamas and their conduct throughout,” Marles said. “We have been critical of Israel. But at the end of the day, what we need to see here is an end to the hostilities, and this human tragedy being brought to an end, and the healing, and the repair process start to begin.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is on leave and news of the Trump plan broke in the dead of the night in the United Arab Emirates where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is spruiking a new trade agreement on his way back to Australia from London. He is expected to address the Gaza plan sometime today.

The Trump plan, immediately embraced by Netanyahu, was endorsed by European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and influential Arab states, who worked together to get more nations to recognise Palestinian statehood at the United Nations last week.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt said they welcomed Trump’s “sincere efforts” to end the war.

”Israel would have my full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas,” Trump said, opening the door to a renewed military effort in Gaza that would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

Netanyahu added: “If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accepted and then basically do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself.”

The opposition said Australia’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN meant the Albanese government would have no practical contribution to Middle-East peace talks.

“I think it just shows how foolish Australia’s foreign policy has been,” said Coalition senator Dave Sharma, a former Australian ambassador to Israel.

“Here we were speaking about recognising a Palestinian state last week, that we could do nothing to help bring about whilst the real work was being done with the US administration, with the Arab countries, with Israel.”

“That’s a group in which we would have normally had a seat at the table. But this plan has been developed and unveiled without any Australian input ... because we are simply not a trusted ally in the Middle East any more.”

Gaza would be governed by a transitional “apolitical” committee made up of Palestinians and overseas experts under the peace plan. It does not require people to leave Gaza, unlike a widely criticised idea put forward by Trump earlier in the year that would have involved hotels on the Gaza coast.

Trump’s plan would establish a temporary governing board for Gaza to be known as the “Board of Peace” that would be headed by Trump and include former British prime minister Tony Blair. It would include Palestinians and international experts and would set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza until the Palestinian Authority has undergone major reforms. Netanyahu is opposed to the authority.

The Trump plan indicates that once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty”.

The plan adds that members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza would be provided safe passage to receiving countries.

Hamas is believed to be holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom are thought by Israel to still be alive. The militant group has demanded Israel agree to end the war and withdraw from all of Gaza as part of any permanent ceasefire.

Trump discussed the US plan with Arab and Islamic leaders in New York last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It doesn’t include the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which Trump appeared to endorse earlier this year.

Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin said: “While western governments were engaged in gesture politics and theatrics at the UN, the US administration has developed a mechanism to immediately and permanently end this war.”