The cease fire in Gaza is eliciting sighs of relief from some Palestinians in Maine.
But Fateh Azzam, a Georgetown-based human rights expert, says that relief is mixed with trepidation about the future of Palestinians.
"People in Gaza and in Palestine, in the West Bank, as a whole, need to be able to live free," Azzam says. "They need to be free from occupation. They need to be free to determine their own futures. And from what I've seen now in the 20 point plan that Trump has presented, that's not what it's looking like at all."
Under the plan, Gaza would be governed by a board chaired by President Trump. Azzam calls the 20-point peace plan "awful."
"If I can put it simply, it's a plan of bludgeon diplomacy: 'You do what we say, or even more hell will be let loose on you.' That's basically all it is," Azzam says. "And Palestinians are given no choice but to submit."
Azzam says he also wants Israel to be held accountable for its actions. In September, an independent United Nations commission found that Israel had committed genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine could not immediately be reached for comment. In a social media post the Alliance said, "For 738 days, families in Israel and around the world have lived with anguish and uncertainty — waiting, praying, and hoping for the return of loved ones taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023."
The Alliance said it celebrated the release of surviving hostages, and that it marks "the beginning of healing, renewal, and peace for Israel and the Jewish people everywhere."
