Arab Americans credit Trump for Gaza ceasefire but worry about region as he takes office

When war erupted, dozens of American citizens were trapped in Gaza, and while most were eventually evacuated, many relatives remain

Pro-Palestine demonstrators rally near the White House in Washington to protest against Israel's actions in Gaza. AFP

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As President Donald Trump returned to the White House on Monday, Arab Americans expressed hope for the future.

“It’s a good feeling, I am happy,” Zakaria Alarayashi said as Joe Biden ended his single term in office.

Mr Alarayashi and his wife, Laila, are Palestinian Americans who live in Livonia, Michigan. They were visiting family in Gaza city when the war broke out on October 7, 2023.

They were trapped there for a month a half before being evacuated by the State Department, he said. He was later able to get his daughter out, but not her husband or his son. His son's wife was able to leave, along with their youngest children, but not the older ones.

“I feel relieved after Trump pressured Israel and was able to stop the war within a month – something which Biden couldn’t do for a year and a half,” Mr Alarayashi told The National. “Biden could've stopped the war, but he didn’t.”

Arab Americans are deeply angry with Mr Biden over his unrelenting support for Israel as the death toll in Gaza mounted. More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched an unprecedented military campaign on Gaza, after an attack by Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people.

Much of the coastal enclave is in ruins and the majority of residents displaced.

Mr Alarayashi, like many Arab Americans, said Mr Biden should have stopped sending weapons to Israel and applied more pressure for a ceasefire. One came into effect on Sunday, a day before Mr Biden's term ended, halting more than 15 months of conflict. Three Israeli hostages held by Hamas were released in exchange for 90 Palestinians detained in Israel's prisons.

But many in the Arab-American community have credited the Trump administration for finally making that happen.

Haneen Okal, a Palestinian American living in New Jersey, was trapped in Gaza with her three young children. She had gone there to give birth, surrounded by family.

She was evacuated in November through Rafah. On the first try, she was forced to return, after the area near the crossing with Egypt came under fire. Her brother and sister are still there, displaced and suffering. Their family have lost 70 close relatives in this war.

“I have negative feelings about everything, Biden and Trump,” Ms Okal said. “I don’t feel relief at all. The only relief I feel is that the war has ended – had Biden stayed on, the war would have continued.”

Mr Trump said he wants to be a “peacemaker and unifier”. During his inaugural address, he pointed out that “one day before I assumed office here, we got the hostages in the Middle East”.

In previous elections, Arab Americans overwhelmingly backed Democrats. In the presidential elections in November, many voters turned against the party's candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, largely over the administration's position on Gaza and the region. Many stayed home or voted for third-party candidates. Others voted for Mr Trump.

The shift in Arab-American support became especially clear in the swing state of Michigan.

In Dearborn, the city that is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans, Ms Harris received less than 20 per cent of the vote. The city's Democratic Lebanese-American mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, did not endorse her.

The ceasefire is supposed to last 90 days and include an exchange of hostages and detainees.

Supporters and relatives of Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip demonstrate on January 20. AFP