Israeli right wing hits out at Kamala Harris as Netanyahu visit polarises opinion

Members of Israel’s rightwing government have hit back at Kamala Harris over her demands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after she met Benjamin Netanyahu during his US visit.

After a brief meeting with the Israeli prime minister, which Harris described as “frank and constructive”, the US vice-president and presidential candidate said it was “time for this war to end, and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination”.

An unnamed Israeli official accused Harris of endangering a potential deal to free Israeli and dual-national hostages in Gaza. “Hopefully the remarks Harris made in her press conference won’t be interpreted by Hamas as daylight between the US and Israel, thereby making a deal harder to secure,” the Israeli media reported the official as saying .

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who this week endorsed Donald Trump’s candidacy, immediately joined the fray, tweeting: “There will be no truce, Madam Candidate.”

Ben-Gvir previously tweeted in support of Netanyahu’s fiery speech to Congress this week, where the prime minister avoided mention of a ceasefire, lashed out at the international criminal court and claimed “victory is in sight”.

Netanyahu’s visit, his first abroad since the 7 October attacks by Hamas and other militants that killed 1,200 people and 250 people were taken hostage, has been polarising in Washington and at home since his ministerial jet left the runway in Tel Aviv.

While his supporters lauded his speech to Congress, in particular his attacks on Iran, a growing chorus of critics as well as many of the hostages’ families expressed disappointment that Netanyahu had failed to declare a ceasefire and hostage deal while in Washington and also further delayed dispatching Israeli negotiators, due in Doha earlier this week.

Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Friday, amid speculation in the Israeli media that he will remain in Florida to celebrate the birthday of his son Yair, who lives in Miami.

Xavier Abu Eid, a Palestinian political analyst, said Netanyahu’s speech only deepened animosity towards him. “I don’t think anyone believed a word of what Netanyahu said … he didn’t speak about policy, it was just a combination of slogans. It was insulting not only to the Palestinian victims of this war, but to American citizens demonstrating for Palestinian rights,” he said.

Yair Lapid, a former Israeli foreign minister, also criticised Netanyahu’s speech. “We heard Netanyahu talking about October 7 as if he had no idea who was the prime minister and who was responsible for the disaster,” he said on X. “Netanyahu had the opportunity to announce that he accepts the deal and returns the kidnapped before they all die in the tunnels. He didn’t do it.”

Families and supporters of some of the 114 hostages still held in Gaza expressed outrage at the lack of a ceasefire declaration.

Israel’s Hostages Families Forum demanded an urgent meeting with hostage negotiators, calling the delays in sending Israeli mediators to Doha “deliberate sabotage of the chance to bring our loved ones back”.

The group demanded that the Mossad, the intelligence agency in charge of negotiations, “provide an honest report to the Israeli public about who is obstructing the deal and why”.

Speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv this the week, the father of one hostage, Liri Elbag, addressed the prime minister. “Everyone knows the story with Mr Netanyahu … except for one thing, when there will be a deal … Even your negotiation team doesn’t know,” he said.

Einav Zanguaker, the mother of another hostage, Matan Zangauker, described Netanyahu’s visit to the US as a “public relations campaign”.

“Instead of declaring in Congress that he accepts the deal on the table, Netanyahu is preventing the implementation of the deal for personal reasons,” she told Haaretz.

Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator, said the families of the hostages were divided, with some backing a deal and others agreeing with Netanyahu’s approach that military pressure was the only way to force an agreement from Hamas.

“This reflects the split in Israel between the Netanyahu echo chamber and what is outside of it, which now includes most of the military leadership – who, unlike Bibi, want a deal,” he said.

The “true purpose” of Netanyahu’s visit, Levy said, was to assess whether the Biden-Harris administration would continue to blame Hamas if talks failed, despite indications that Harris would strike a different tone on the war in Gaza.

Trump, before his meeting with Netanyahu, also demanded an immediate ceasefire, although his remarks drew no response from Netanyahu’s rightwing backers.

The former president told Fox News he wanted Netanyahu to “finish up and get it done quickly … because they are getting decimated with this publicity”. He claimed the 7 October attacks would not have happened under his presidency, adding: “Israel is not very good at public relations.”

Abu Eid said: “It’s clear for Netanyahu and those around him that they would prefer a Trump presidency, not even Republican, but Trump. But what kind of answers he will get when they meet are unclear.”