Administration officials diluted Kamala Harris’ Gaza speech – report
NBC News has been told by US officials that Kamala Harris’ speech on Sunday, in which the US vice-president called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept a deal to release hostages in return for a 6-week cessation of hostilities, was watered down by officials at the national security council.
Harris bluntly called out Israel for not doing enough to ease a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, in what appeared to be the sharpest rebuke yet by a senior leader in the US government over the conditions in the coastal enclave.
The original draft of Harris’ speech, when it was sent to the national security council for review, was harsher on Israel about the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the need for more aid than were the remarks she ultimately delivered, according to one of the current officials and the former official.
One of the U.S. officials said the initial draft specifically called out Israel more directly about the need to immediately allow additional aid trucks in. The official described Harris’ original language as strong but not controversial.
The move to soften Harris’ comments highlights how reluctant the White House still is to aggressively criticise Israel in public as President Joe Biden tries to maintain some influence over the Israeli government and secure a hostage deal.
An old man on the outside
On the outside, looking in
His policy. Grown fragile
Support. Grown way too thin
For his allegiance, is to others
Never to his party core
For now long ago, he wandered
sought to bankrupt state and law