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White House Defends Harris’ Meeting With Israel’s Gantz

Despite tensions, the White House saw the meeting with Gantz as a natural continuation of ongoing discussions with Israeli officials…reports Asian Lite News

US Vice President Kamala Harris has met with a member of Israel’s cabinet prosecuting the war in Gaza, urging an immediate ceasefire and the increase and safe distribution of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in need.

Amid objections from Netanyahu’s party, the White House met with Benny Gantz, former Israeli defence minister and deputy prime minister and also a centrist political rival of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite Netanyahu’s disapproval, the meeting underscored divisions in Israel’s wartime leadership.

White House officials defended the meeting, emphasising the importance of engaging with all members of Israel’s war Cabinet. Gantz also held discussions with VP Harris, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, alongside planned meetings with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Despite tensions, the White House saw the meeting with Gantz as a natural continuation of ongoing discussions with Israeli officials.

Harris’ meeting with Gantz, came on Monday — one day after she gave what appeared to be the most strongly-worded call to date from the Joe Biden administration for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The Vice President discussed the urgency of achieving a hostage deal and welcomed Israel’s constructive approach to the hostage talks,” said a readout of the meeting issued by the White House.

“She called on Hamas to accept the terms on the table whereby the release of hostages would result in an immediate six-week ceasefire,” it added.

Harris also “expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the recent horrific tragedy around an aid convoy in northern Gaza”, the readout said, referring to an incident Thursday that killed scores of Palestinians trying to get food from an aid convoy in Gaza City. As a result, the civilian death toll since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza surpassed 30,000.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that most of those killed in the chaotic event died from a stampede, while Palestinian-run local health authorities said those sent to hospitals were shot by large-calibre ammunition.

During her meeting with Gantz, Harris “urged Israel to take additional measures in cooperation with the United States and international partners to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and ensure its safe distribution to those in need”, the readout said.

Gantz’s visit came amid a growing rift between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the latter’s handling of the war. Gantz is a political opponent of Netanyahu, but the two have reached a deal whereby they agree to share power in planning the military operation against Hamas.

ALSO READ-Kamala Harris calls out Israel over ‘catastrophe’ in Gaza

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Books Lite Blogs USA

This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future

Book Cover credits: Twitter

According to leaked excerpts of the book to Politico, the relationship between the Biden and Harris camps is getting worse and is now characterised by anger, mutual contempt and turf wars, the report said…reports Asian Lite News

A new book claims there is a ‘widening rift’ between US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Daily Mail reported.

The claims are made in forthcoming book, “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future”, by Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin.

The new book emerges as Biden’s approval ratings dropped to a new low of 40 per cent this week.

The book, which will be out in May, is twisting the knife by alleging that the widespread public perception of Kamala Harris as imperious, insecure and out of her depth is shared even in the White House, Daily Mail reported.

According to leaked excerpts of the book to Politico, the relationship between the Biden and Harris camps is getting worse and is now characterised by anger, mutual contempt and turf wars, the report said.

A senator close to her said Harris’ “frustration is up in the stratosphere” and she’s told White House aides in “frank terms” that she doesn’t want her remit to be restricted to a few issues “mainly associated with women and black Americans”, Daily Mail reported.

Biden insiders, meanwhile, prefer a different explanation: The Vice President is simply not up to the job. Harris has gone so far as to complain that White House staff were not standing up when she entered a room, the report said.

“Some of Harris’ advisers believed the President’s almost entirely white inner circle did not show the VP the respect she deserved,” the book says, Daily Mail reported.

“Harris is worried that Biden’s staff looked down on her; she fixated on real and perceived snubs in ways the West Wing found tedious.”

Harris also clashed with the President’s office over her foreign policy role, the authors claim. Her team had wanted her to oversee America’s relationship with Scandinavian countries – an obviously fairly easy job.

But as Barack Obama’s VP, Biden had taken on Central America – a far bigger challenge, as it includes the problem of illegal immigration across the Mexican border.

The Biden camp felt it only reasonable that Harris did the same, alongside overseeing voting reform — another tricky responsibility, albeit one she’d asked for.

The book — whose allegations the administration has done little to dispute beyond noting they are unattributed’ — claims that Biden staff have grown tired of complaints by the VP and her cheerleaders that she’s been set up to fail (although why Biden would want to do that appears less clear), Daily Mail reported.

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-Top News USA

Kamala pledges additional aid to tackle migrant crisis

The pledged aid package offers $255 million in relief funds to mitigate the damage from persistent drought as well as food shortages …reports Asian Lite News

The Unites States Vice President Kamala Harris has pledged an additional $310 million humanitarian aid for Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador in order to tackle wave of migration from those countries to the US, according to media reports.

The vice president had held virtual discussions with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei regarding the funding on Monday.

According to reports, Harris spokeswoman Symone Sanders said the leaders discussed the need for long-term economic growth to create jobs and stop the flow of migrants to the U.S., which has caused an early political and humanitarian crisis for President Joe Biden.

The aid package includes $255 million in relief funds to mitigate the damage from persistent drought as well as food shortages and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Harris’ office.

Also read:We are determined to help India, says Biden

The money would also fund safety precautions for refugees and asylum seekers and provide health and disaster-relief services to people in those three countries.

Another $55 million in Department of Agriculture funds would go to strengthen Guatemala’s farming industry and expand access to daily meals and literacy programs in Guatemala and Honduras, Harris’ office said, according to media reports.

Biden chose the vice president to lead the diplomatic response to the migration crisis by engaging with Central American governments.

The new role of Harris resembles that of Biden when he was vice president and asked by then President Barack Obama in 2014 and 2015 to lead diplomatic efforts in the Northern Triangle after a surge of unaccompanied minors from those countries began arriving in the United States.

Also read:Time to prepare for next pandemic: Kamala