The war in the Gaza Strip merited a few scant mentions over less than five minutes of the US presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump Tuesday night. But the words they used to describe how they would each handle the conflict were carefully noted in Israel.
If elected, Trump said, “I will get that settled and fast.” But he did not say how, and sidestepped a question about how he would negotiate with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Hamas to secure a cease-fire agreement and the release of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.
Harris also did not offer any specifics. She repeated her support for Israel and the need for the hostages’ release, but also the US position that a two-state solution would give Palestinians security and sovereignty. “What we know is that this war must end,” she said.
Mairav Zonszein, the senior Israel analyst with the International Crisis Group, said she was struck by Harris’ call for an end to the war, “which is something that you don’t hear much in Israel, even in the protests.”
She said Harris’ words may be particularly scrutinized in Israel among people who supported Trump in the past, but bitterly oppose Netanyahu’s handling of cease-fire negotiations. Trump has closely aligned himself with Netanyahu, who is resisting parts of an agreement that the Biden administration has tried to broker.
Here is a look at some of the positions Harris and Trump have staked out when it comes to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.
The War in Gaza
Harris supports a cease-fire in which Hamas would release all hostages who were seized in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the Israeli military would withdraw from Gaza. She first called for a cease-fire in early March, and has been somewhat more vocal than President Joe Biden about the humanitarian crisis that Israel’s bombardment and invasion have caused in Gaza.
Trump, who during the debate said Harris “hates Israel,” has expressed his continued support of the country’s invasion and bombardment of Gaza. He has also urged Israel to “finish up” the war because it is losing support. While he was initially critical of Netanyahu and Israeli intelligence, calling them unprepared for the Oct 7 attack, Trump quickly backtracked from those remarks and said he stood with the Israeli leader, with whom he was closely allied as president.
A Two-State Solution
Harris has endorsed a two-state solution in which Israelis and Palestinians would live side-by-side in their own sovereign countries.
Trump released a peace proposal that he called a blueprint for a two-state solution when he was president, but it would not have created a fully autonomous Palestinian state and was seen as strongly favoring Israel.
Working With Netanyahu
Harris has expressed disagreement with Netanyahu over his conduct of the war in Gaza, but she has not endorsed actions that would concretely affect his government. While Harris skipped Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in July, she met with him privately while he was in Washington.
Trump strongly supported Netanyahu’s government and as president gave it a number of political gifts, including backing hard-line Israeli policies that previous US administrations had rejected.
Since Trump lost the 2020 election, he has been somewhat less friendly toward Netanyahu, seemingly for a personal reason: The Israeli leader congratulated Biden on his victory.