US VP Harris calls for ‘immediate’ implementation of 6-week ‘ceasefire currently on the table’

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event in Selma, Alabama, on March 3, 2024. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event in Selma, Alabama, on March 3, 2024. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

A crowd listening to US Vice President Kamala Harris speak in Selma, Alabama reacts elatedly after she calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, drowning out her subsequent qualification that she is referring to the six-week truce the Biden administration is trying to negotiate, which would see the hostages released and humanitarian aid surge into Gaza.

“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire,” Harris begins, causing the crowd in Selma to erupt in applause, before she can finish her sentence, when the seemingly thrown off vice president adds: “for at least the next six weeks, which is what currently is on the table,” Harris continues, barely heard over the sustained cheers from ostensibly progressive supporters who have long pushed the administration to call for an immediate ceasefire.

“This is what will get the hostages out and a significant amount of aid in,” Harris adds. “This would allow us to build something more enduring to ensure Israel is secure and to respect the right of the Palestinian people to dignity, freedom and self determination,” the vice president says.

Her remarks are consistent with longstanding US policy that the best way to secure a truce is through a hostage deal.

However, the increasing comfort with which administration officials have been using the term “ceasefire” in recent weeks could indicate that the White House is inching toward demanding an unconditional ceasefire, regardless of whether the hostages are released.

Harris is slated to meet with visiting war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz in Washington tomorrow.

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