With only two months until the November election, the Harris campaign is considering a different approach to its current U.S.-Israel policy.
Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris’ team is looking into “a new direction” with its Israel policy as it hopes to end the war between Israel and Hamas before the 2024 election.
A Washington Post report revealed that Harris’ national security advisor, Phil Gordon, had concerns that neither the Israeli military strategy nor parts of the United States’s response would work to defeat Hamas terrorists.
Gordon worried that the only way to accomplish Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas entirely was to destroy Gaza along with it, with all the humanitarian tragedy that would entail, according to a person close to him who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Gordon did not believe the United States could influence Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he had dealt with during Israeli-Palestinian peace talks a decade earlier, the person said. [Gordon and Harris] have worked hand-in-hand to formulate Harris’s remarks at numerous inflection points in the war, providing clues as to how she could reshape U.S.-Israel policy if she wins the presidency.
Khanna echoed similar remarks, saying she has pushed the Harris team to drum up a “direction of policy to bring the war to an end.”
“What she has – her team has expressed openness is to a new direction and look, anyone looking at this policy, you have hostages who still aren't released. You have a war that has lasted almost 11 months. You have over 40,000 people in Gaza dying,” the Democrat said during an interview on "Meet the Press.”
The California rep also advised Harris to support the enforcement of U.S. law, stressing that the country does not have unconditional aid.
The WaPo report indicated that the vice president would consider analyzing the current U.S.-Israel policy to determine what is working and what is not. Gordon will reportedly lead the effort, which could include some aid to Israel. This is a stark difference from President Joe Biden’s policy, in which he has strictly rejected such an idea.
On Monday, Biden and Harris met in the White House Situation Room with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team to discuss a strategy on ways to reach an agreement for the release of the remaining hostages. The meeting comes after Hamas terrorists murdered six hostages, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin on Saturday.