The Biden-Harris Administration’s Misguided Policy On The Palestinians?

by Bassam Tawil  • Gatestone Institute •  October 16, 2024 at 5:00 am

Vice President Kamala Harris’s repeated talk about the need to establish a Palestinian state in the aftermath of the October 7 atrocities against Israelis is the best gift the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group could have wished for. Pictured: Harris and President Joe Biden on in New York City, September 11, 2024. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

• On a number of occasions over the past few months, US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has declared her support for the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel. Last month, Harris said: “We must have a two-state solution where we can rebuild Gaza where the Palestinians have security, self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve.”

• Harris’s repeated talk about the need to establish a Palestinian state in the aftermath of the October 7 atrocities against Israelis is the best gift the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group could have wished for.
• Harris seems to ignore that a majority of Palestinians continue to support Hamas and the October 7 atrocities…. Two-thirds of the Palestinians [in a poll conducted by Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in June] said that the October 7 massacres were “correct.”
• What is most disturbing about Harris’s advocacy for the establishment of an Iranian-controlled Palestinian state is that it is seen by many Palestinians as a reward for the October 7 atrocities….So, when Harris talks about the need to establish a Palestinian state, she is sending a message to Hamas and other Palestinians that terrorism against Israel pays….
• If Harris really cared about the Palestinians, she should be calling on Hamas to surrender; stop glorifying terrorists and paying their families monthly salaries; dismantle all terror groups operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, stop poisoning the hearts and minds of their people, and recognize Israel’s right to exist. Unfortunately, she has done none of the above
• Moreover, the assumption that the PA can be “revitalized” and play a role in a post-war Gaza shows that Harris and the Biden administration are unfortunately clueless….The poll also found that if presidential elections were held today, Hamas arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar would receive 41% of the votes, while Abbas would get only 13%. A majority of 84% of the Palestinians want Abbas to resign.
• Abbas is also well aware that the talk about “revitalizing” the corrupt PA is nothing but a farce. The PA was established more 30 years ago and its leaders, Yasser Arafat and Abbas, have never shown any serious intention to combat rampant corruption, anarchy and lawlessness in areas under their control.
• Abbas and the Egyptians appear to have renewed their talks with Hamas because they sense that the Biden-Harris administration is not interested in ending the terror group’s rule over the Gaza Strip.
• If Biden and Harris really wanted to see Hamas removed from power and the Israeli hostages released, all they need to do is issue an ultimatum to the ruler of Qatar, who funds and hosts the terror group’s leadership, that the US will withdraw its air base from the Gulf state and impose sanctions on the emirate if the issue is not resolved immediately.
• If the Biden-Harris administration really wanted to get rid of Hamas, they would be calling out Abbas and the Egyptians for negotiating with a terror group about ways of incorporating it in a new administration in the Gaza Strip.
• Talk about creating a Palestinian state emboldens terrorists everywhere and assures the world that the US is on their side.

On a number of occasions over the past few months, US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has declared her support for the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel. Last month, Harris said: “We must have a two-state solution where we can rebuild Gaza where the Palestinians have security, self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve.”

Continue Reading Article