Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for the US presidency, could potentially transform the strained situation in the Middle East if she becomes victorious in the November elections. Should President Joe Biden withdraw and the Republican contender, Donald Trump, face defeat, this could halt their seemingly destabilising polices and breathe new life into the strained Arab-US ties.
As Sanam Vakil, a regional specialist at Chatham House, informed National daily from Abu Dhabi, Harris as the president would uphold US’s unwavering allegiance to Israel, yet she might show more compassion towards Palestine.
Harris’s decision to abstain from the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech at a joint session of Congress is perceived as a signal directed towards the Middle East by some. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed/The New Arab, the bilingual pan-Arab publication from London claimed that Harris had snubbed Netanyahu to maintain her commitment in Indiana, over the contentious Gaza conflict. Nonetheless, Harris has plans to meet Netanyahu during her visit, in line with Biden and Trump.
In the region, the Gaza conflict has turned into a litmus test for western and US politicians. Harris was obligated to cast her lot with Biden’s unwavering political, diplomatic, and military endorsement of Israel’s war. His position implicates the president, but she is viewed sympathetically by commentators of the region. Harris stated in December that Israel has a responsibility to safeguard Gazan civilians, and in March she advocated for an immediate ceasefire, well before Biden introduced his stagnating ceasefire plan.
Arab media noted the vice-president’s caution regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. She stated in early March that the situation in Gaza was heartbreaking, with reports of families eating leaves or animal feed, women delivering malnourished newborns with negligible healthcare, and children succumbing to malnourishment and dehydration. She asserted that the Israeli government needs to ramp up the aid inflow significantly, making no room for excuses. Harris also stated she would not rule out any measures, including the suspension of US aid, should Israel choose to invade Rafah.
She is an advocate for the two-state resolution, condemns the incorporation of the West Bank into Israel and disapproves of Israeli settler hostilities, key elements in settling the Israeli-Arab volatility. Harris criticises Iran’s administration, taking a stand against its suppression of demonstrations triggered by the passing of Mahsa Amini under morality police custody in 2022. Amini was reportedly under arrest for not correctly wearing her headscarf. Harris also favours America’s comeback to the 2015 treaty that sealed a deal limiting the Iranian atomic initiatives, in return for relieving penalties that Trump discarded in 2018.
In her tenure at the Senate, she voted to terminate US backing for Saudi Arabia’s conflict in Yemen and promoted a law to prohibit any US military intervention against Iran, actions which could potentially tip the region into an unabridged war. She also openly rebuked Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for repressing anti-government rallies that eventually sparked the country’s civil conflict.