Kamala Harris makes comments after a meeting with Israeli prime minister
(Reuters)
A senior official on Friday criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for saying the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza cannot be ignored. Harris spoke after she met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. "Hopefully the things the vice president said in a press conference would not be interpreted by Hamas as a rift developing between Israel and the United States, which would delay a deal," the official said ahead of Netanyahu's meeting with Donald Trump.
"We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent," Harris said in a press conference after her meeting with the prime minister.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris
( Photo: Roberto Schimdt / AFP)
The officials said Harris's comments differed from what she had said in her meeting with the Israeli prime minister. He claimed there was no tension in their meeting. "Her tone surprised us," he said.
"The question now is what would Hamas's answer to the Israeli proposal be. One thing that was raised in the talks with both U.S. President Joe Biden and Harris was that there should not be daylight between the Israeli and American positions because that would cause Hamas to reject the deal. What should the terror group think when it hears Harris? We can only hope this does not there is no backing down from the deal because we have made much progress."
The official added that Netanyahu spoke at length about the humanitarian situation in Gaza after accusations of starvation in the Strip. He said that the IDF had captured thousands of prisoners, including Nukhba terrorists and initially, to ensure they were not strapped with explosives, their shirts were removed. "There was not one single case of malnutrition, that we observed, on the contrary," he said.
As to the accusations of harm to civilians, Netanyahu told Harris that half of those killed in Rafah were terrorists.
The official said that Netanyahu told Biden in their meeting earlier on Thursday that if Israel's enemies see unanimity in positions with the U.S., the chances that hostages would be free, grow and the risk of regional war, diminishes. "The greater the rift, the farther away we are from a deal and the greater the chances of regional war," the official said. "The meeting with Biden was a positive move toward understanding."
He said much of the discussion with Biden was on the hostages. "The Israeli delegation can leave tomorrow," the officials said, "but that remains unclear. Not because of Israel but because of other restrictions. Israel briefed the Americans on the position it would present the mediators."
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U.S. President Joe Biden meets with families of hostages and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: GPO)
The two leaders also discussed the situation with Lebanon, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iran and a possible peace deal with Saudi Arabia. "Netanyahu left the meeting feeling quite positive," the officials said. "A Saudi deal could certainly be advanced based on a common interest to see it come to fruition."
Netanyahu also met National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Thursday and discussed the sanctions imposed on violent settlers. "Netanyahu was very clear but there is still disagreement," the official said. "The Americans denied that they planned to impose sanctions on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir," he said.
"We told the Americans that their intent to impose sanctions on settlement mayors was unjustified and inconsistent with their policies elsewhere and that such a move would have the opposite effect to what they hoped the outcome would be."
The official said that Israel would not agree to hand over land to Lebanon simply for an end to Hezbollah's attacks. "We made no territorial concessions. The test for us is only if the residents of the north could return home or not. If they cannot, there can be no diplomatic resolution. If there is a resolution, it must be enforceable and cannot be based on the lack of enforcement in the previous agreement - UN resolution 1701
The official revealed that Netanyahu had spoken to former president Donald Trump on the 4th of July, before the attempt on his life.
First published: 08:06, 07.26.24