What will the Middle East policy be if Kamala Harris wins the election?

2024-08-28 15:01:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

White House officials welcomed the rescue of an Israeli hostage held by Hamas on Tuesday. They also said they were working to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. However, even if a deal is reached, the next US administration will inherit the problem of ongoing tensions in the Middle East. VOA Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara updates Vice President Kamala Harris on potential Washington politics if she wins the November presidential election.

Israel carried out another deadly attack on a Gaza refugee camp as negotiators try to reach a ceasefire deal in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

One of the hostages was rescued on Tuesday.

"We welcome Farhan Alkad to his home. I congratulate the Israeli army and the Shin Bet intelligence service for another successful rescue operation. We are working non-stop to return all our hostages," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke about this issue when she accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party as a presidential candidate last week.

"President Biden and I are working to end this war so that Israel is safe, the hostages are freed, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination," Ms. Harris said.

Aside from her tenure as vice president, Ms. Harris has no other foreign policy experience.

Her national security adviser is Phillip Gordon, who has served as Democratic vice presidents, including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.

This signals the continuity of previous Democratic administrations.

This includes continuing military support for Israel, something that has been confirmed by Ms Harris' former security adviser.

"The vice president and the president have supported the continuation of military aid to Israel, not only because of the agreement, but they have also supported increased support because of Israel's security needs," says Halie Soifer, who now leads the Jewish Democratic Council of Israel. America.

Aid is expected to continue despite demands from Arab and Muslim communities as well as progressives and new democrats, who want an arms embargo on Israel.

Vice President Harris, however, has expressed greater sympathy for the suffering of the Palestinians than President Biden.

"We cannot understand much of what she says now as her statements are intended to win elections and keep the Democratic Party united. While the Democrats are divided into two groups, one that supports Israel more and the other that expresses sympathy for the Palestinians. She will continue to make statements just to say something. That's exactly what it's doing," says Jonathan Rynhold from Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv. Unlike Mr. Biden, who often says he is a Zionist, Ms. Harris, whose parents are immigrants from Jamaica and India, may be more sensitive to the attitudes of countries in the global south, which includes Latin America and Africa.

"She is aware of how the rest of the world feels about the Middle East, about neo-colonialism, neo-imperialism, and I really hope that she has the opportunity to take these attitudes into account if she becomes president. This is what American foreign policy needs to face the challenges ahead, which are very different from the challenges of the past three decades," says Natasha Hall from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

If she wins in November, Ms. Harris will inherit the challenges of her predecessors, including the protracted conflict in the Middle East. It must design its foreign policy, a complex issue of great importance, involving multiple interests./ Voa