Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank say a US presidency led by Kamala Harris would not help end Israel’s war on Gaza, following US President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his re-election bid.
Under Biden, the United States has provided its ally Israel with billions of dollars in military aid since October 7. Many Palestinians expect Harris, Biden’s vice president and a Democrat, to continue supporting Israel if she is elected president in November.
At the same time, many Palestinians fear that Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump will only worsen their suffering if he returns to power.
“Trump would be the worst,” said Asmaa Nimilaat, 50, from a hospital where thousands of people are being housed in Deir el-Balah, an area in central Gaza. “But any candidate who becomes president will not support the Palestinians.”
Since Hamas’ attacks on Israeli communities and military outposts on October 7, in which 1,139 people were killed and 250 captured, Israel has launched a devastating war on Gaza with US support.
Israel’s war has killed at least 39,090 Palestinians, uprooted nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and created widespread hunger and malnutrition in the besieged enclave.
The war has dominated international headlines for nine months, allowing Israel to quietly seize more land in the occupied West Bank than in any other year in the past three decades.
Palestinians blame Biden, 81, for his “weak” leadership and support for Israel.
“Biden used American machinery to protect the Israeli occupation and used American vetoes (in the UN Security Council) to protect Israel’s genocidal policies,” said Raed Debiy, head of the political science department at An-Najah National University in the West Bank city of Nablus.
“Since the (Hamas) attack in October, America has treated Israel as if it were the 51st (US state),” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
” Always the same thing “
After Biden endorsed Harris to take his place in the presidential race, Harris garnered significant support from members of her party as well as the American public. Harris received the support of more than 2,500 delegates, giving her the lead in winning the nomination at next month’s Democratic National Convention, where the party’s presidential nominee will be announced.
But Palestinians are skeptical of a Harris presidency because of her warm history with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobby group that has for years advocated for unconditional U.S. support for Israel.
In 2017, Harris spoke at AIPAC’s annual conference and pledged to defend Israel’s right to “defend itself” and to defend U.S.-Israeli military cooperation. The United States provides Israel with approximately $3.3 billion in military aid annually.
Fathi Nimr, a Palestinian political analyst living in Ramallah in the West Bank, told Tel Aviv Tribune he did not foresee a major change in US policy if Harris became president.
“There is no indication that Harris had any disagreements with Biden over (Israel’s war on Gaza),” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“I think it will always be the same,” he said. “Kamala is not an outsider who will come and challenge the status quo.”
Some Palestinians believe Harris could at least get a little “tougher” on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom many accuse of continuing the war on Gaza to delay national elections at a time when his popularity is at an all-time low.
Ismat Mansour, who spent 20 years in Israeli prisons, discussed how Biden has said he considers himself a Zionist, stressing that he has an “emotional attachment” to Israel, which makes Harris more attractive to Palestinians by comparison.
“I don’t expect a big change in US policy,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune. “But maybe Harris would work more with the UN and put pressure on Netanyahu to make a (captive) deal and find a solution for Gaza, because the whole world has an interest in restoring stability in the region.”
“Stop the genocide”
Many Palestinians in Gaza told Tel Aviv Tribune that they do not care whether Biden will run for re-election or who the next US president is, as long as the next US leader ends the war in Gaza. Ibrahim Nabeel, a volunteer doctor at a hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, is one of them.
Nabeel said he was distressed by the frequency with which he saw bodies being brought to the hospital. On Monday, Israeli warplanes bombed eastern Khan Younis, killing at least 70 Palestinians and wounding more than 200, according to Gaza health authorities.
Nabeel said Palestinians in Gaza simply want the next US president to talk about “security, freedom and healing” rather than Israel’s right to “defend itself.”
“Honestly, Palestinians don’t really care who the next president of the United States is. They just want him to end the genocide,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
However, few people in Gaza are hopeful that the war will end soon.
Salah Abu Maghseeb, 25, who sells drinks at the entrance to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, told Tel Aviv Tribune that the US would always support Israel, no matter who is in power. The war on Gaza would have ended “a long time ago” if the US had simply suspended its support, he said as he made a cup of coffee for a customer.
“With American support, Israel is the most powerful killer of the Arab people,” Abu Maghseeb said.
Nimilaat, who is in the same hospital, added that Netanyahu can only listen to a US president if that leader is willing to hold him accountable.
“Netanyahu is not listening. No one can convince him – not Biden, not anyone else,” she said. “Why? Because no one (in America) is willing to use their influence to stop him.”