I reported earlier about the diplomatic flap over Kamala Harris' comments in regard to Gaza.
The story cited Israeli officials who said Netanyahu was upset with her comments criticizing them over the conduct of the war in Gaza. An official said that her comments were not good because they were creating daylight between the U.S. and Israel, and that could embolden Hamas as they try to work out a deal on the matter.
In comments after the meeting, Harris said she told the Israeli prime minister that she "will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah."
"I also expressed with the Prime Minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians. And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there," she added, calling for an end to the war and the release of all hostages held in Hamas captivity.
READ MORE: Kamala Creates Diplomatic Flap Over Comments About Gaza, and Israel Isn't Happy
Netanyahu then met with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Kamala reproached Israel in part for their actions; Trump welcomed him in:
President Trump greets Prime Minister Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago 🇺🇸🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/UTrjCDar4h
— Margo Martin (@margommartin) July 26, 2024
Bibi said that they were trying to "expedite" a deal, but directly referenced Harris, saying he hoped that the comments didn't mess up the ability to get it done:
Trump & Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago...
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) July 26, 2024
Trump on Kamala Harris remarks after VP met w/PM: "Her remarks were disrespectful. They weren't very nice, pertaining to Israel. I actually don't know how a person who's Jewish can vote for her. But that's up to them...Disrespectful to Israel." pic.twitter.com/2qvdPq0Fs9
"And I think, to the extent that Hamas understands that there's no daylight between Israel and the United States, that expedites the deal. And I hope that those comments don't change that," Netanyahu said.
Trump called out Harris' remarks as "disrespectful."
Netanyahu said he thinks there's been movement [from Hamas to agree to a deal] because of the military pressure they have exerted. He also gave Trump a picture of one of the Bibas toddlers, who are still being held as hostages by Hamas. Netanyahu said the grandfather of the toddlers asked him to give the picture to Trump. Trump, in response, said, "Wow, that's very moving," then added, "We'll get that taken care of."
Kamala had blown off Netanyahu's address, where he called out the leftist protesters. Netanyahu didn't hold back, pointing out all the problems with their positions, including this hilarious comment:
Netanyahu: "Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming 'Gays for Gaza'. They might as well hold up signs saying 'Chickens for KFC'." pic.twitter.com/rDkcOCb5Z0
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 24, 2024
The fact that Netanyahu is meeting with Trump shows even he believes that Trump may be the guy that he's going to have to deal with in the future.
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