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Earlier in March, during a visit to Selma, Alabama, Harris had called for a cease-fire in Gaza and urged Israel to take steps to increase the flow of aid into the Palestinian territory.
Mohammed Abu Sharkh, displaced from northern Gaza to the Deir al-Balah camp, told Al-Monitor, “Palestinians felt helpless about the way members of the US Congress treated Netanyahu during his recent speech and lost hope for a radical change in the United States' pro-Israel policy.”
Commenting on congressional members' clapping during Netanyahu’s 55-minute speech, Abu Sharkh, who holds a master’s degree in international relations, said, “For us, the applause sounded like bombs falling on the heads of Palestinian children.”
Still, when it comes to Gaza and the next US president, he has a preference: the current vice president.
“I think Harris will have a better vision for the Palestinians, especially with regard to human rights, such as increasing aid and Gaza’s reconstruction,” he said.
Abdul Rahim al-Hayek, displaced from Gaza City to the town of Qarara, in the south, shares Abu Sharkh’s pessimism about a possible change in US policy toward Palestinians and the war, regardless of who wins the election.
“I have lived through 14 US presidents, all of whom were blatantly pro-Israel, with the exception of President Bill Clinton, who visited Gaza in 1998 to push the peace process forward,” Hayek told Al-Monitor.
Hayek said he would like to see Harris victorious in November, adding, “I prefer anyone over Trump, who recognized our future capital, Jerusalem, as the capital of Israel.”
It has been the hope of Palestinians that East Jerusalem will be the capital of any future Palestinian state.
Palestinians readily recall the collective setbacks they experienced when Trump was president. During his time in office, he made a series of decisions considered a blow to the Palestinian cause.
