Harris Says She Will Not Add Conditions To U.S. Weapons For Israel

"I'm unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel's defense and its ability to defend itself, and that's not going to change," the Democratic presidential nominee said.

Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday evening she would not approach the Israel-Hamas war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza significantly differently than President Joe Biden, who has, with one exception, refused to impose additional conditions on U.S. aid or weapon sales to Israel.

In her first interview as the Democratic presidential nominee, CNN’s Dana Bash asked Harris whether she would do anything differently than Biden regarding Gaza, including by withholding weapons shipments, as pro-Palestinian advocates have been demanding.

“Let me be very clear, I’m unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself, and that’s not going to change,” Harris began her reply, suggesting conditioning military aid was off the table.

Harris then reiterated a version of her remarks on the topic at the Democratic national convention in Chicago exactly a week earlier: that Israel must not again endure an attack of the kind Hamas perpetrated on Oct. 7, and that Palestinians have a right to “security and self-determination and dignity.”

Like Biden, Harris implied, gently, that Israel has not done enough to protect Palestinian civilians.