Harris says she won’t be ‘silent’ on Gaza suffering after Netanyahu meeting
Al JazeeraUnited States Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged not to stay “silent” about suffering in Gaza, shifting emphasis to the plight of Palestinians as the de facto presidential nominee walks a fine line on the conflict dividing her Democratic Party. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Thursday, Harris said that her commitment to Israel’s existence and security was “unwavering”, but that “far too many” innocent civilians had been killed in the war. And I will not be silent.” Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign, said that she had urged Netanyahu to agree to a US-backed ceasefire proposal. Harris also reiterated her support for Israel’s right to defend itself, condemned Hamas as a “brutal terrorist organisation”, and listed the names of five US citizens believed to be in Hamas’s captivity in Gaza as well as the names of two others whose remains are believed to be in the enclave. In an interview with the Israeli news site Ynet published on Tuesday, Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, said Harris’s overall record was “positive”, but she had made “quite a few problematic statements” about the war in Gaza.