WASHINGTON: Kamala Harris signalled a major shift on US Gaza policy Thursday, with the presidential hopeful telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seal a peace deal and insisting she would not be “silent” on the suffering in the Palestinian enclave.
Ripping up outgoing President Joe Biden’s playbook of mostly behind-the-scenes pressure on Israel, the vice president said after meeting Netanyahu that it was time to end the “devastating” war.
“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 told reporters.
“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.”
US President Joe Biden on Thursday raised with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the need to close gaps to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, remove obstacles in flow of aid and protect civilian lives in military operations, the White House said.
In a meeting with Netanyahu, Biden called on him to swiftly finalise a deal on a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages.
“President Biden expressed the need to close the remaining gaps, finalise the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza,” according to a White House readout, which added they discussed the “humanitarian crisis” in the embattled Palestinian territory and the need to remove obstacles to the flow of aid.
US Vice President Kamala Harris joined Democratic and Republican leaders in condemning protesters who burned American flags and sprayed pro-Hamas graffiti outside Washington’s Union Station on Wednesday, describing the acts as unpatriotic and abhorrent.
The protests coincided with a speech to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Before he spoke, protesters marched near the US Capitol building, condemning US military aid to Israel during its war with Hamas in Gaza.
Following Netanyahu’s speech, some of the demonstrators gathered in front of Union Station. They hoisted American flags outside the iconic train station, burned American ones and spray painted the words “Hamas is coming” and “Free Gaza” on a large monument.
