Trump’s Arab American backers hail Gaza deal but worry it won’t hold
Arab American supporters of the US president have expressed guarded optimism about the ceasefire agreement, but said they are worried that Israel could violate it.
Lifelong Democrat Samra’a Luqman became a vocal backer of Trump in 2024, helping to rally support for him among the pivotal Arab American community in Dearborn, Michigan, in the hope that he could end the war on Gaza.
Now, after Trump helped to broker the ceasefire deal, Luqman feels thrilled and a bit vindicated after months of backlash from neighbours angry over Trump’s support for Israel.
“It’s almost an ‘I told you so moment’,” Luqman, who is Yemeni American, told Reuters. “No other president would have been able to force Bibi to approve the ceasefire,” she said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We’re all holding our breath,” said Mike Hacham, a Lebanese American political consultant and Dearborn resident who campaigned hard for Trump in 2024.
“I gotta give credit where credit is due … but this isn’t a peace deal. It’s just the end of a bloody war, and those lives that were lost on the Israeli side and the Palestinian side aren’t going to be brought back.”
Global attention on Gaza, Israel’s isolation make it likely ceasefire will stick
The ceasefire is likely to stick this time because Gaza has gotten even more global attention and Israel is even more isolated than in January, says Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
“It is a very important moment in history, where you see first of all these recognitions happening [for] Palestinian statehood, and then you see Israel so isolated on the international stage, and then you see the Americans rushing to save the Israelis from themselves … from going all the way in this genocidal bloody project and losing all its legitimacy worldwide,” Qarmout told Al Jazeera.
“And I think all these factors have more or less played in for Trump to also make his own calculations and intervene this time, strategically intervene because he wants … a reputation as a peacemaker.”
Additionally, we are seeing “alignment” and “unity” among all actors to the conflict, especially in the region, including GCC countries.
Yeah until Israel attacks Iran again, then the global attention will be there and Gaza 'peace' plan will be toast.
