The expected Democratic presidential contender, Kamala Harris, has questioned Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on the “dire” humanitarian situation in Gaza in frank conversations, saying, “I will not be silent,” the Guardian reported on Friday.
In remarks that were keenly observed for evidence of a departure from Joe Biden’s policy approach, the US vice president remarked after the meeting: “What has transpired in Gaza over the last nine months is awful. The pictures of dead children and desperate starving people fleeing for their lives, often for the second, third, or fourth time.”
Harris advocated for the construction of a Palestinian state, as well as a cease-fire and hostage release agreement, to bring an end to a war that she believed had killed far too many civilians. “As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” stated the actress.
Hours before, Israel’s prime minister received a more friendly greeting from Biden in the Oval Office, saying: “From a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish-American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the State of Israel.”
According to a White House account of their discussion, the two leaders discussed the truce and prisoner negotiations “in detail,” with Biden emphasizing the need to “close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and bring a lasting end to the war in Gaza”.
Harris’ aggressive statements on Thursday, which were cutting and serious in tone, hinted to a potential shift from Biden’s approach to Netanyahu. Some emphasized the significance of Harris’s public remarks following her and Biden’s separate meetings with the prime minister.
During the discussion, Harris brought up the recurrent displacement of Palestinians since the beginning of the war, which was prompted by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 civilians and kidnapping 250 hostages.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu delivered a speech before the US Congress, the Jewish Democratic senator Bernie Sanders condemned the invitation, arguing that the US should not invite a “war criminal” to a joint session.
In a video uploaded to his official YouTube channel on Wednesday, Sanders stated that Netanyahu’s appearance in Congress represents “the first time in American history that a war criminal has been given that honor.”
The Vermont Senator described the invitation as a “disgrace” and said that it would be a decision America would “look back on with regret.”
On the same day, the American Palestinian Congress Member Rashida Harbi Tlaib, raised a small peancard with “war criminal” written on it, while wearing a Keffiyeh.