“I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself,” she said, adding “because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7.” She went on to describe the massacre at a music festival that Saturday morning, 10 months ago, specifically noting the “unspeakable sexual violence” that morning, an accusation Hamas continues to deny.
She then went on to talk anew about the “devastating” damage and “innocent lives lost” as the Israelis retaliated. “The scale of the suffering is heartbreaking.” But, like Mr. Biden, she gave no indication that, if elected, she would use the leverage of America’s military support for Israel to pressure it to change tactics. She offered no hint of the tension in the relationship with Mr. Netanyahu, which she has witnessed firsthand, as a listener-in, and sometimes participant, in the tense phone calls with the Israeli leader.
Only after hostages are released and a cease-fire takes hold, she said, can Palestinians “realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.” But she said nothing about concessions Israel would have to make if those conditions — essentially the two-state solution — were to come to pass.
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