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Kamala Harris Says She Is Not Concerned about Trump’s Talks with Netanyahu

Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Kamala Harris Says She Is Not Concerned about Trump’s Talks with Netanyahu

Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Sunday she was not concerned about talks between former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and reiterated her positions on the conflict in the Middle East.

Democratic presidential candidate Harris faces Republican Trump in a tight race for the Nov. 5 US elections.

"No," Harris said when asked if talks between Trump and Netanyahu could undermine what the current US government is trying to achieve.

Trump and Netanyahu have spoken on a few occasions in recent weeks. They had close ties when Trump was president as the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which delighted Israelis and infuriated Palestinians.

"I do believe that it is critically important that we as the United States of America be an active participant in encouraging one, that this war ends, that we get the hostages out but also that there is a real commitment among nations to a two-state solution and the 'day after' (in Gaza)," Harris told reporters on Sunday.

President Joe Biden has supported Israel during its wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Palestinian group Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Harris and Trump have pledged to maintain US support for its ally.

In the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, about 1,200 were killed and nearly 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed around 43,000, according to Gaza's health ministry. It has displaced nearly everyone in Gaza, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

Israel's separate campaign in Lebanon has killed over 2,500 and displaced over a million. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, who have been engaged in cross-border fire with Israel for the past year.

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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)

Georgia's president called for protests on Monday following a disputed parliamentary election, and the United States and the European Union urged a full investigation into reports of violations in the voting.
The results, with almost all precincts counted, were a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast Saturday's election as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe, said Reuters.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said on Sunday they had registered incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing that could have affected the outcome, but they stopped short of saying the election was rigged.
President Salome Zourabichvili urged people to take to the streets to protest against the results of the ballot, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won.
In an address on Sunday, she referred to the result as a "Russian special operation". She did not clarify what she meant by the term.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, of which Zourabichvili is a fierce critic, clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the outcome and vote monitors reported significant violations.
Georgian media cited Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as saying on Monday that the opposition was attempting to topple the "constitutional order" and that his government remained committed to European integration.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States joined calls from observers for a full probe.
"Going forward, we encourage Georgia's political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together," Blinken said in a statement.
Earlier, the European Union urged Georgia to swiftly and transparently investigate the alleged irregularities in the vote.
"The EU recalls that any legislation that undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of Georgian citizens and runs counter to the values and principles upon which the EU is founded, must be repealed," the European Commission said in a joint statement with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
President Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally who won the 2018 presidential vote as an independent, urged Georgians to protest in the center of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening, to show the world "that we do not recognize these elections".
For years, Georgia was one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, with polls showing many Georgians disliking Russia for its support of two breakaway regions of their country.
Russia defeated Georgia in their brief war over the rebel province of South Ossetia in 2008.
The election result poses a challenge to the EU's ambition to expand by bringing in more former Soviet states.
Moldova earlier this month narrowly approved adding a clause to the constitution defining EU accession as a goal. Moldovan officials said Russia meddled in the election, a claim denied by Moscow.