Kamala Harris’ office denies claims that Israeli ceasefire speech was watered down by officials as criticism of Biden grows

Biden administration officials have rephrased key parts of Vice President Kamala Harris’ strongly worded speech wherein she sharply criticized Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas and called for a right away ceasefire to free the remaining hostages in Gaza, in keeping with government officials who spoke to NBC News.

Officials in Harris’ camp confirmed some changes to Harris’ fiery March 3 speech on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, but denied that her words had been watered down in any way, saying the core of her original message remained unchanged.

According to unnamed officials, the National Security Council received a draft of the speech before Harris delivered it. At that point, agency officials allegedly watered down key passages that condemned Israel for its worsening humanitarian crisis and called for increased funding for Palestinian civilians.

The first version of the speech directly called on Israel to right away allow more humanitarian aid to Gaza, with officials noting that Harris’s wording was firm but unlikely to cause any misunderstanding.

During the speech itself, Harris continued to be critical of Israel, describing the situation in Gaza as desperate and calling it a “clear humanitarian disaster.”

She confirmed that the Department of Defense had conducted the primary airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza last week, while stressing that the Israeli government must do more to guard refugees as greater than 30,500 Palestinians have been killed because the war began.

“They need to open new borders to get help,” Harris said. “They must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid. They must ensure that humanitarian personnel, sites and convoys are not targeted. They must also work to restore basic services and promote order in Gaza so that more food, water and fuel can reach those in need.”

Most notably, within the speech, Harris called for a right away six-week ceasefire as part of an agreement to free dozens of hostages held captive because the war began on October 7.

“Given the enormous scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire of at least six weeks, as is currently being considered,” Harris said, drawing long applause. “Thanks to this, we’ll free the hostages and receive significant assistance. This will allow us to construct something more lasting that will ensure Israel’s security and respect for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity, freedom and self-determination.”

A day after the speech, Harris met with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz in Washington, as the White House seeks to pressure Israel to just accept one other ceasefire.

Negotiators also met this week in Egypt to debate a possible agreement with Hamas, which has sent delegates to Cairo for talks.

The sides had been trying to achieve an agreement before the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 10, which might make it easier to deliver more humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The proposal features a provision to exchange the remaining Israeli hostages for several hundred Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel, but first Israel demanded to know exactly what number of hostages are still being held.

Earlier, Israeli officials said militants had kidnapped about 240 Israeli civilians, while lower than half were released under an earlier ceasefire agreement, leaving about 134 in captivity.

Under the most recent proposal, Hamas has demanded temporary housing in Gaza until reconstruction is accomplished, as at the very least 60 percent of homes have been destroyed. The militants are also asking for the whole withdrawal of Israeli troops and for Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza to be allowed to return to their lands.

Earlier, Gantz vowed that “fighting will continue everywhere,” including Rafah – Gaza’s southernmost city where one million displaced Palestinians have been camped for weeks – unless Hamas releases the hostages before the beginning of Ramadan.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues attacks in Gaza, including last Saturday, which killed 11 people and injured at the very least 50, in keeping with the Gaza Ministry of Health. Another Israeli attack on the identical day in eastern Rafah killed 14 members of one family and left as many as 10 others trapped under rubble.

Also last week, Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinian civilians as they tried to access food from an aid convoy in Gaza, resulting in the death of at the very least 115 people.

But on Sunday, the Israeli military said most civilians died in panic and that soldiers were “reacting” only to immediate threats.

Israeli hostilities proceed to place pressure on the White House to oppose its essential ally within the Middle East, while Israel faces regular anti-government protests as its public grows increasingly indignant over the resolution of the hostage crisis.

At the identical time, senators have increasingly called on Biden to take stronger motion to guard Palestinian civilians, and key Biden allies in Congress have threatened to chop military aid unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changes his uncompromising approach.

The criticism, which initially got here from Senator Bernie Sanders and a small group of progressive Democrats, has increased significantly in recent weeks as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise.

Currently, even President Biden’s closest ally in Congress, Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, believes it’s needed to take a stronger stance against Netanyahu’s government over its conduct through the war.

Military support for Israel “becomes unsustainable when Israel demonstrates that it is not willing to listen to us,” Coons told reporters after the shooting of innocent civilians during a failed aid convoy on Feb. 29.

On Thursday, the United States dropped aid to Gaza for the third time ahead of Biden’s State of the Union address, where he plans to announce the creation of a port to deliver food, medicine and other aid to civilians.

Meanwhile, the amendments to Harris’ speech concerned the tone of the speech quite than changing US policy towards Israel.

The White House said Harris’ ceasefire remarks, which received wide media coverage, echoed Biden’s earlier comments and reaffirmed the administration’s position calling on Israel to cut back its recalcitrant military campaign.

Asked whether the vice chairman’s speech was toned down to alleviate possible disagreements amongst allies, communications director Kirsten Allen replied: “That’s not true.”

“The vice president felt it was important, in light of recent events, to address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and to reiterate our administration’s call on Hamas to accept the terms of the hostage agreement,” she said in a separate statement to NBC.

It is standard practice for administration officials to submit their public comments on foreign policy to the National Security Council and the West Wing, and within the case of Harris’ speech, several changes were made, some even on the last minute.

The speech was still widely seen as powerful and effective, though Harris largely reiterated the Biden administration’s recent policy stance toward Israel and called for no latest compromises from Netanyahu’s hard-line government, which has called Hamas’ demands in the present negotiations “delusional.”

Still, Harris’s relentless speech on the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday – a pivotal moment within the civil rights movement – gained widespread attention, with extensive national media coverage and hundreds of individuals who shared clips of the speech online.

“She did what she does best, which is take policy issues, present them in a way that people could understand them, and then address them with her own passion and her own sense of what’s right,” said Leah Daughtry, a Democrat political strategist who urged for a everlasting ceasefire, According to NBC. “Everything happened in such a way that we still talk about it.”

Despite pressure from activists and spiritual leaders, the Biden administration has not yet called for a everlasting ceasefire in Gaza.

The apparent move to tone down Harris’ speech comes as the White House stays wary of openly criticizing Israel even as President Joe Biden teeters on attempting to sway intransigent Israeli leaders while negotiating a hostage take care of Hamas militants.

Last Friday, Biden spoke to reporters within the Oval Office, where he made clear he would support a right away six-week ceasefire as part of the hostage deal.

“We are trying to negotiate an agreement between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said. “The return of the hostages and a right away ceasefire in Gaza for at the very least the subsequent six weeks. And allow aid to flow through the complete Gaza Strip, not only south, but across the complete Gaza Strip.

Two days later, Harris disagreed during her rousing speech in Selma.

After the speech, she was quick to notice that she and Biden were on the identical page.

“The president and I have been aligned and consistent from the very beginning,” Harris told reporters. “Israel has the right to defend itself. Far too many Palestinian civilians, innocent civilians, have been killed.”

Before the speech, Biden faced growing criticism for his handling of the war, with many believing Vice President Harris desired to take a stronger stance against the fighting in Gaza but was not in a position to, in keeping with a Democrat who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign. in a position to do that. , who spoke to NBC on the condition of anonymity.

The source said Harris has made significant efforts to present herself as a more compassionate voice, attempting to connect with Muslim and Arab Americans as well as other Democrats who’re increasingly concerned concerning the worsening situation in Gaza after 22 weeks of war.

“Her hands are tied,” a source told NBC. “People don’t attack her because they know it’s not her policy. This is Biden’s war. This is a failure for Biden.”