Netanyahu Angered by Kamala Harris's Public Remarks

Vice President Kamala Harris’s media appearance on Thursday did not sit well with Israeli officials.

“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 following a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as reported by the Times of Israel.

“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,” she emphasized.

Harris, who is effectively the Democratic presidential nominee, mentioned that she “expressed with the prime minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians. And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there.”

While acknowledging Israel’s right to self-defense, Harris stressed that how Israel conducts its defense matters, with her primary focus on ending the conflict initiated by Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023.

“It is time for this war to end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity, and self-determination,” she stated, according to Axios.

“I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu it is time to get this deal done. Let’s get the deal done. So we can get a ceasefire to end the war. Let’s bring the hostages home. And let’s provide much-needed relief to the Palestinian people,” she urged.

An Israeli official briefing the media later noted that “Harris’ statement after the meeting was much more critical than what she told Netanyahu in the meeting.”

Netanyahu was reportedly displeased with Harris’s public criticism of Israel regarding Gaza’s situation, the official added.

The official warned of potential consequences.

“Hopefully, the remarks Harris made in her press conference won’t be interpreted by Hamas as daylight between the US and Israel, thereby making a deal harder to secure,” the official told the Times of Israel.

“The more the gap widens between our countries, the more we move away from a deal and thus also increase the possibility of a regional escalation,” the official cautioned.

Israeli governing coalition members were direct in their critiques.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich commented that the deal Harris is promoting would result in “an immediate end to the war in a way that will let Hamas regroup and the abandonment of most of the hostages.”

“Kamala Harris has shown the world what I have been saying for weeks — what is really behind the deal,” he posted on social media. “[We] must not fall into this trap!”

“There won’t be a stop to the war, Mrs. Candidate,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir remarked.

White House representative John Kirby noted that negotiators are closer “than we’ve been before” to reaching an agreement, though obstacles remain, as reported by The Washington Post.

The proposed agreement would halt fighting for six weeks, free some hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, and pause the conflict to negotiate a permanent resolution for Gaza’s future.