Unbelievable moment Penny Wong sings the praises of Trump after the US President brokered Gaza peace deal
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has heaped glowing praise on US President Donald Trump for his ‘singular achievement’ of brokering a deal to end the war in Gaza.
‘Only the President of the United States could bring this about… It is an enormous achievement,’ Wong said in an interview on the ABC on Monday night.
Her words are a far cry from just a few days ago when she claimed the Albanese government’s decision to formally recognise a Palestinian state had contributed to international pressure to reach a peace agreement.
Trump last week had revealed in negotiating the agreement he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that ‘you can’t fight the world’.
‘I see it [that comment] as confirmation that being part of international momentum towards peace was the right call,’ Wong said on Friday.
Shadow Foreign Minister Michaelia Cash said that ‘Wong’s attempt to claim credit for Donald Trump’s Middle East peace deal is absurd’.
By Monday night Wong had made an about-face and said that ‘enormous congratulations’ were deserved. ‘He’s brought this conflict to a pause and hopefully to an end, and has a pathway to peace that he’s been so critical in articulating.’
‘So, it’s a great achievement by the US President.’
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Trump alone deserves credit for peace deal in Gaza despite saying only a few days ago Australia had heaped pressure on Israel
In the same interview Wong was asked whether Australia would be willing to contribute to an international ‘stablisation force’ which is called for under the 20-point peace plan.
‘Well, look, we haven’t been asked,’ Wong said. ‘I’m not going to get ahead of myself… what I have said all along is we want to play our part in contributing momentum to peace’.
Trump flew into Israel on Monday and told Israeli lawmakers their country had no more to achieve on the battlefield and must work toward peace in the Middle East after two years of war against Hamas and skirmishes with Hezbollah and Iran.
Although the U.S.-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, Trump is determined to seize an opportunity to chase an elusive regional harmony.
‘This will be remembered as when everything began to change,’ Trump declared in his speech.
He promised to help rebuild Gaza, which has been devastated during the conflict.
The U.S. president will continue on to Egypt for a summit with more than two dozen other nations, although he was running hours late as speeches at the Knesset continued longer than expected.
‘They might not be there by the time I get there, but we´ll give it a shot,’ Trump joked after needling Israeli leaders for talking so much.
Trump gave a speech to the Israeli Knesset on Monday where politicians welcomed him as a hero
Twenty hostages were released Monday as part of an agreement intended to end the war. Trump may meet some of them at the Sheba Medical Center, and he talked with families at the Knesset.
The White House said momentum is also building because Arab and Muslim states are demonstrating a renewed focus on resolving the broader, decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, in some cases, deepening relations with the United States.
In February, Trump had predicted that Gaza could be redeveloped into what he called ‘the Riviera of the Middle East.’ But on Sunday aboard Air Force One, he was more circumspect.
‘I don´t know about the Riviera for a while,’ Trump said. ‘It´s blasted. This is like a demolition site.’ But he said he hoped to one day visit the territory. ‘I´d like to put my feet on it, at least,’ he said.
Roughly 200 U.S. troops will help support and monitor the ceasefire deal as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private sector players.
