Egypt Daily News – On Thursday, US Vice President Kamala Harris delivered the strongest speech we have heard from the White House on the situation in Gaza since the war began nearly 10 months ago.
Moments after the end of her meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she went out to reporters and said: “We cannot turn a blind eye to these tragedies, and I will not remain silent.”
With Harris joining the presidential race in the same week that Netanyahu delivered his fourth address to Congress, questions immediately arose about how strong she would be with Netanyahu and whether she would go further than — or break with — US President Joe Biden.
Harris echoed Biden’s repeated statements about “strong support” and “steadfast commitment” to Israel, and said that Israel “has the right to defend itself,” noting that “how it does so matters.”
But it is the compassion with which she described the plight and suffering of the Palestinians that makes us see the difference between Biden and her, as was the case with the way she described the ceasefire agreement.
I twice mentioned the “serious concern” I expressed to Netanyahu, as well as regarding the civilian deaths in Gaza, and the situation she described the humanitarian and destruction as “catastrophic” and “devastating,” then went on to describe “images of dead, hungry, and desperate children fleeing in search of safety, and sometimes being displaced for the second, third, or fourth time.”
Harris stressed the need to recover the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and mentioned the names of the eight Israeli-American hostages (3 of whom were killed).
But when describing the ceasefire agreement in preparation, it did not highlight the exchange of hostages for Palestinians in Israeli prisons, or allowing aid into Gaza.
Instead, she noted that the agreement stipulates that the Israeli army withdraws from populated areas in the first phase before withdrawing “completely” from Gaza before a “permanent end to hostilities.”
This is in stark contrast to Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, in which he did not mention the words “ceasefire” or “deal,” and instead, “comprehensive security control” in Gaza is needed for the “foreseeable future.”
It remains to be seen whether the White House has achieved its goal of pushing Netanyahu to a place where he will agree to a ceasefire.
On the other hand, Harris left no doubt about her position: “As I just said to Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to complete this deal.”
