It would appear that it’s not always the best idea to send out our vaunted “Border Czar” to sit down with the media unsupervised and just start… talking. It’s normally harmless enough since she typically either just starts giggling or rambling about Venn diagrams. But this weekend she gave an interview to ABC News and decided to weigh in on the current situation in Gaza. It did not go well. Following on the heels of her boss, Joe Biden, the Veep continued to erode the United States’ support for our trusted ally, Israel. But simply criticizing Israel’s offensive in Gaza wasn’t good enough for Harris. She decided to up the ante a bit by issuing a thinly veiled threat to Bibi Netanyahu. Harris suggested there could be “consequences” for Israel if they move on Rafah, the last stronghold of Hamas’ terror brigades.
In a wide-ranging new interview with ABC News, Vice President Kamala Harris suggested there could be “consequences” for Israel if it moves ahead with a planned invasion of Rafah in its pursuit of Hamas fighters.
The city, on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, is thought to currently have some 1.4 million people in it.
According to the U.N., many Palestinians fled there from elsewhere in the territory amid the ongoing war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack.
“We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake,” Harris told ABC News’ Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott in part of the interview that aired Sunday on “This Week.”
To be fair to Kamala Harris, she didn’t bring up the idea of “consequences” for Israel out of the blue. It was the interviewer, Rachel Scott, who initially asked about the possibility. Harris first attempted to dodge the question, saying something about taking the situation “one step at a time.” But Scott pressed her, asking if she had “ruled out” the possibility of consequences. The Veep then conceded that the administration is “ruling out nothing.” That was really all it took, and Israel is clearly paying attention.
When it comes to Rafah, Harris claimed that she has “studied the maps” and concluded that there is “nowhere for those folks to go.” While it’s reassuring to hear that Kamala is capable of finding Israel on a map, that conclusion is nonsensical. The majority of the more than one million people in Rafah came there from elsewhere in the Strip as the IDF moved through the northern region, rooting out the Hamas terrorists as they went. They can move back to the regions that have already been cleared and Israel has already stated that they are setting up “humanitarian islands” to the north of Rafah where aid can be distributed.
Even if that weren’t the case, what are the alternatives? Hamas has made it clear that they have no intention of simply releasing the rest of the hostages and surrendering en masse. (That could end the war tomorrow.) So the only other options would be an endless standoff outside of Rafah or having Israel surrender and go home, allowing Hamas to win the war. Would Kamala Harris prefer one of those options more?
Sadly, these cracks in our alliance with our closest ally didn’t have to be inflicted. The Veep was only attempting to follow her marching orders and act as an extension of Joe Biden’s current, floundering foreign policy moves. None of this has anything to do with Israel and Gaza. It has to do with Michigan and Wisconsin. The Biden administration is hemorrhaging support among Arab and Muslim liberal voters and going into a panic. They’re trying to walk a tightrope between continuing to support Israel and seeming as if they support a ceasefire. Kamala Harris just took it a step too far during her interview on ABC. The end result will be negligible. Bibi Netanyahu already responded to the Veep’s comments and said that the move into Rafah “will happen.” He is not impressed with Harris’ threats.