Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for suggesting that the United States could impose “consequences” on Israel if it moves forward with the Rafah invasion.
Mr. Fetterman made the statement about X in response to Mr. Harris’ interview with ABC News on Sunday. He said it would be a “big mistake” for Israel to carry out an attack without US approval.
“I totally disagree,” Fetterman responded. “Israel has the right to prosecute Hamas and either surrender or eliminate it.”
“Hamas is responsible for every innocent death due to its despicable acts behind the lives of Palestinians,” he added.
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Mr. Fetterman emerged as one of Israel’s staunchest allies in the Senate in the wake of the October 7 massacre.
Israel attacks in Rafah, kills 31 Palestinians ahead of planned ground invasion
Meanwhile, relations between President Biden’s administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration continue to deteriorate. Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear that an invasion of Rafah is imminent, with or without US approval.
Harris clearly left the possibility of an impact on Israel on the table in an interview Sunday. She cited the high concentration of civilians around Rafah, which she claimed had nowhere else to go.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for suggesting that the United States could impose “consequences” on Israel if it moves forward with the Rafah invasion. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“We’ve talked about it many times and we’ve made it clear on every point that a major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake,” Harris told the ABC. “Let me tell you something, I looked at the map. There’s nowhere for those people to go.”
“We’re going to take it one step at a time, but we’re very clear on whether that’s going to happen.” [an invasion] It’s going to happen,” she added.
“Are you ruling out the possibility of influence from the United States?” asked ABC reporter Rachel Scott.
“I’m not ruling anything out,” Harris said.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday refused to rule out “consequences” if Israel proceeds with its invasion of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Rafah is located on the border with Egypt, which, like other neighboring Arab states, has so far refused to accept Palestinian refugees, even temporarily.
Representatives from these countries generally argue that Palestinians should not be forced to leave Gaza.
Many Arab states in the region actively prevent the exodus of Palestinians from Gaza by denying visas to Palestinian passport holders. All of these countries emphasize that they do not want to be complicit in forced displacement. They speculate that Israel will not allow those who left the country to return, despite comments by Israel’s foreign minister and others to the contrary.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send an Israeli delegation to Washington this week to determine whether a compromise can be reached regarding Rafah, pictured above. (Reuters/Maxar Technologies)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to send an Israeli delegation to Washington this week to determine whether a compromise on Rafah could be reached.
israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last remaining stronghold, and Israel must defeat the terrorist organization’s forces there if it is to achieve its war goals. Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas following the attack on October 7, which killed around 1,200 people, took 250 hostages and triggered heavy Israeli air and ground attacks in Gaza.
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However, Rafah is now a refuge for around 1 million Palestinians displaced by the Gaza war. The Biden administration has insisted that any invasion plan must include clear and strong protections for civilians, and has said it is not yet satisfied with Israel’s precautions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
