United States: Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States, has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza while criticising Israel for its actions.
“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table. This will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in,” Harris said.
While US President Joe Biden’s administration has so far levelled strong criticism of Israel, Harris stated that Israel must do more to deliver aid, including opening new border crossings and not imposing ‘unnecessary restrictions.’
During a speech commemorating the violent suppression of civil rights demonstrators by police in Selma, Alabama in 1965, Harris remarked that, “People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act. The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses.”
The US VP also addressed the killing of more than 100 Palestinians trying to get food aid to Gaza City. Harris commented that, “Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Our hearts break for the victims of that horrific tragedy.”
In addition, Harris called on Hamas to accept a cease-fire agreement, which officials from the US say have been broadly accepted by Israel. “Hamas needs to agree to that deal. Let’s get a ceasefire. Let’s reunite the hostages with their families. And let’s provide immediate relief to the people of Gaza,” Kamala Harris said.
The Vice President’s remarks coincide with Biden’s growing resistance from left-leaning voters over his support for Israel ahead of November’s presidential election.
The Democratic Party is increasingly concerned that Biden’s position on the war will cost him votes, particularly in Michigan, one of the few battleground states that could determine the election’s outcome. As a rebuke to the president’s position on Gaza, more than 100,000 voters voted for ‘uncommitted’ during the Democratic primary in Michigan last week.
In 2020, Biden won Michigan, home to one of the country’s largest Muslim populations, by only about 150,000 votes. In 2016, former President Donald Trump became the first Republican to win Michigan since 1988 by less than 11,000 votes.
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