Could Kamala Harris as US president boost America’s ties to the Global South?

China’s steady inroads across developing world not the only obstacle for new Democratic Party standard-bearer seeking White House

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US Vice-President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP via Getty Images/TNS

Published: 12:50am, 3 Aug 2024Updated: 7:36pm, 7 Aug 2024

For the first time since emerging as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, US Vice-President Kamala Harris recently spoke out on a fraught foreign-policy issue that has polarised Americans and put Washington squarely at odds with the Global South.

“We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent,” declared Harris, referring to the situation in Gaza following a “frank” conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week in Washington.

Harris, whom polls show has drawn virtually even with her Republican opponent, former president Donald Trump, pledged unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself in its war against Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group controlling Gaza.

At the same time, America’s first female vice-president stated that how Israel goes about the task “matters” and called the past nine months in Gaza “devastating”, putting more distance between herself and Republicans whose condemnation falls fully on Hamas with little regard for Palestinian civilians caught in the middle.

A view of destroyed buildings in Gaza on Thursday amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Photo: Reuters

The Israel-Gaza war has claimed nearly 40,000 lives and displaced 1.9 million people, according to the Palestinian health ministry and the United Nations. The scale of upheaval has especially enraged many in the Democratic Party’s left-leaning wing.

With the 2024 US presidential election fewer than 100 days away, Harris’s remarks are viewed as acknowledging domestic discontent with President Joe Biden’s strong military and diplomatic support for Israel.