Harris struck a more forceful tone in her remarks than President Joe Biden [Getty]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have lashed out at US Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for the presidency, after she said it was time for the war in Gaza to end.
Harris’ remarks at a press conference after meeting Netanyahu came amid significant political pressure on the Israeli prime minister from different sides of the political spectrum to reach a ceasefire deal and end the onslaught on Gaza.
“There has been hopeful movement in the talks to secure an agreement on this deal, and as I just told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” she said.
Netanyahu was reportedly “upset” by her on-camera statement and was concerned the comments would “harm” the talks on a Gaza deal, according to comments by an Israeli official cited by Axios.
The official told the outlet that Netanyahu was disgruntled by Harris’s comments which referred to a Gaza deal as an “end” to the war while Israel has been pushing for a truce that enables it to resume the fighting after a captives exchange is implemented.
The Axios report also said that the Israeli prime minister was displeased with the fact that Harris criticised his country publicly over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and for killing civilians.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Netanyahu and his hardline allies see Harris’s comments as potentially undermining their position by signalling a rift between the United States and Israel.
They also worry that such statements might be interpreted by Hamas as a sign of division, potentially complicating or delaying any peace deal, according to an unnamed official cited by the news agency.
Both Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leaders of two hardline religious nationalist parties whose support is vital for Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, condemned Harris’ remarks.
“Madam candidate, there will be no cessation of hostilities,” Ben-Gvir wrote on the social media platform X.
Harris struck a more forceful tone in her remarks than President Joe Biden, who has himself increasingly pressed Netanyahu to conclude an agreement with Hamas that would halt the fighting and bring Israeli captives home.
She defended Israel’s right to”defend itself” but her remarks suggested she was losing patience with Netanyahu’s government.
“What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time,” Harris said.
“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”
Rights advocates have also weighed in, urging Harris to clarify her position on the genocide in Gaza.
Lawyer and human rights activist Petra Molnar said the presidential nominee “needs to clarify her position on […] a ceasefire, a peaceful resolution protecting the Palestinian people and [on] ending impunity and holding Netanyhu’s [government] accountable for war crimes […]”.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch’s executive director Tirana Hassan has warned that “US lawmakers should be seriously concerned about the liability risks of continuing to provide arms and intelligence based on Israel’s flimsy assurances that it’s abiding by the laws of war”.
“Enough is enough,” said Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “The US government has been presented with ample evidence from experts around the world that US-origin arms have been used in war crimes and unlawful killings by the Israeli government.
“Continued weapons transfers will make the US complicit in violations of international law committed with these arms.”
