Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would send a delegation to Rome for talks to end the war between Israel and Hamas, but criticised Kamala Harris’ comments that she would “not be silent” about the “tragedy” in Gaza.
The Israeli prime minister’s comments came during a visit to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday, after discussing ceasefire efforts with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris in Washington a day earlier.
The Biden administration said Israel and the US were closing “the gap” on the issue, but Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said she would “not be silent” about the “tragedy” and “suffering” of Gaza’s civilians and urged all parties to reach an agreement.
“Now is the time to end this war, to end it in a way that Israel is safe, all hostages are free, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination,” Harris said.
After his meeting with Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel would send negotiators to the talks in Rome “probably early this week.”
He said there had been “some movement” in ceasefire efforts “thanks to our military pressure.”
But he said, “I think an agreement will come sooner if Hamas understands that there is no divide between Israel and the United States.” [Harris’s] Commenting won’t change that.”
Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, and taking 251 hostages, many of whom remain in Gaza.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry said more than 39,000 people have been killed in the Israeli military response in Gaza.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu and several Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes, charges allege are denied.
The Rome talks are the latest in a series of efforts to end the war. The United States will send CIA Director Bill Burns to meet with representatives from Qatar, Egypt and Israel. The talks are due to begin on Sunday.
The two sides are expected to discuss an agreement to end hostilities and return hostages being held in Gaza.
President Trump said on Friday he would pursue peace if re-elected, and criticized Harris’ comments the previous day as “disrespectful” to Israel.
He said his relationship with Netanyahu “has always been good. No president has achieved what I have achieved for Israel, but we have always had a very good relationship.”
The Trump administration has reversed several long-standing U.S. policies regarding the Middle East and Israel.
The Palestinian Authority has announced plans to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a decision that has infuriated Palestinians and their allies, who say it jeopardizes the long-held goal of making occupied East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The administration also withdrew from an international deal with Iran aimed at halting its nuclear weapons program, a move supported by Israel but criticized by European countries.
The country developed the Abraham Accords, which aimed to normalize relations between Israel and Arab countries.
He also proposed a “Trump peace plan” that would have united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and given Israel sovereignty over much of the occupied West Bank, a proposal that was summarily rejected by the Palestinian Authority.
