<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Exclusive:</span></strong><span> Australia's former ambassador to Israel says Donald Trump's enforcer-style approach to the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas earned him enough trust in the region to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/israel-hamas-ceasefire-gaza-what-happens-next-after-hostages-prisoners-freed/c032a48f-343e-4b25-9857-4da0b86270d6" rel="" target="_blank" title="broker this week's ceasefire."><span>broker this week's ceasefire.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump is being credited locally and globally as the pilot of the peace deal, after 20 living hostages were released from Hamas captivity and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees were freed on Monday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Liberal senator Dave Sharma told </span><a href="http://9news.com.au"><span>9news.com.au</span></a><span> Trump was able to achieve a breakthrough peace agreement because he mastered the language of conflict and earned begrudging respect from both sides.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/macquarie-repay-shield-investors-michael-donovan-relieved-to-be-refunded-after-collapse-exclusive/c2381615-6ff9-41fc-a773-322d9a1fdb25" target="_blank" title="Micki thought he'd lost $150,000. Then an email landed in his inbox"><strong><span>Micki thought he'd lost $150,000. Then an email landed in his inbox</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Do you have a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter April Glover at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:april.glover@nine.com.au" target="" title="april.glover@nine.com.au"><em><strong><span>april.glover@nine.com.au</span></strong></em></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think he's got respect and authority there. All sides have a level of trust in him, that he will do what he says, he will stick by his word, enforce his will if it's tested," Sharma said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In the Middle East, where so much of the language of politics and diplomacy is force, that makes him a very credible player in a way past US administrations who have not wanted to get involved in the same way, who have not been prepared to use military force... who don't necessarily understand the language of the region so well, have not been able to do that."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/israel-hamas-peace-deal-donald-trump-legacy-former-israel-ambassador-dave-sharma-interview/f6dbdf8b-ff4d-4ee7-b773-8a8da49292ba" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Comparatively, the Biden administration – which was in power on October 7, 2023 during the Hamas terrorist attack – wasn't prepared to bring in the US military to the Middle East, Sharma said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said Trump pulled the trigger on an Iran nuclear site strike in June, which set the wheels in motion for this week's ceasefire.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't think the Biden administration would have hit the Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow like the Trump administration did, for instance," he added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The Obama administration, where Biden was the Vice President, famously said that if Syria used chemical weapons, it would be a red line. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Syria used chemical weapons, they never enforced that red line."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/esta-visa-perth-woman-denied-boarding-on-flight-to-hawaii-to-visit-husbands-family/f659f6a8-da4e-4263-b9a0-6f958b639a51" target="_blank" title="An unexpected email ruined Perth couple's $3000 trip to Hawaii"><strong><span>An unexpected email ruined Perth couple's $3000 trip to Hawaii</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sharma predicts Trump – content now with exclaiming that the "war is over" – will assume a backseat approach.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His role as the enforcer may not be needed again in the region unless a ceasefire is broken, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think Trump is personally invested in it lasting, so I don't think he will lightly allow the resumption of this conflict," Sharma said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Whilst Trump might not need to remain personally involved, his lieutenants in the region, Steve Whitcoff, Jared Kushner, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, they'll all need to make sure that these sort of problems and obstacles are ironed out, and they'll need to alert Trump if and when he needs to get involved again further."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He described Trump as now more popular in Israel than its own Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The president was given a hero's welcome in Israel when he landed as the hostages were being released.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"[Biden] didn't have the same level of popularity as Trump. He was certainly a pro-Israel president, but in a different league to Trump," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And the Arab world also knows that he can deliver Israel, if you like, that his say and his influence there is very high.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In parts of the Middle East, Biden might speak softly but carries a small stick, whereas Trump speaks loudly and carries a big stick."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump's legacy is still evolving as his second administration nears the end of its first year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/esta-visa-australian-travellers-returning-from-us-falsely-accused-of-overstaying-exclusive/2c5863d5-658a-48f2-a0ea-511fccaf6431" target="" title="Aaron was accused of illegally staying in the US for over 10 years"><strong><span>Aaron was accused of illegally staying in the US for over 10 years</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/us-immigration-esta-error-queensland-woman-denied-boarding-flight-in-canada/56068ae8-803d-414f-a3f9-1413269f7e3a" target="_blank" title="Queensland woman forced to pay $10k to fly home after being denied boarding on flight to US"><strong><span>Queensland woman forced to pay $10k to fly home after being denied boarding on flight to US</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Foreign policy will remain a key pillar of the president's final term but his tariffs – which continue to wreak havoc in global markets – could eclipse it in the history books.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has imposed hefty tariffs on imported goods into the US, including slapping a 10 per cent tariff on all Australian exports.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think this tariff agenda is something that is going to feature far more prominently in the legacy of his administration," Director of Research at the United States Studies Centre Jared Monschein said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But I think on the whole, it would be hard for us to find a Democrat that, as much as they dislike Donald Trump, is somehow denouncing what he's accomplished in the Middle East in the last few days."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Monschein said he expects Trump's successful mediation between Israel and Hamas will give some "forward momentum" in his administration.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"At the same time, it's hard to say that this is a clear, long-term or even medium-term victory because if there's anything that the Middle East has shown time and time again, it's that it's hard to predict," he added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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