‘Now is the time to get a cease-fire deal,’ US vice president tells pro-Palestine protesters

By Gozde Bayar

US Vice President Kamala Harris told pro-Palestine protesters chanting slogans at her campaign rally in Arizona that it is time to “get a cease-fire deal and get the hostage deal done.”

According to The Hill news website, Harris responded to pro-Palestine supporters chanting "Free Palestine" at the rally in Phoenix.

“I have been clear: now is the time to get a cease-fire deal and get the hostage deal done. Now is the time,” she said.

Stressing that both US President Joe Biden and she are working to get a cease-fire agreement and for the return of the prisoners, Harris said she respected the views of pro-Palestine supporters.

Despite appeals on Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US, and Qatar, to stop hostilities, reach a cease-fire, and a hostage exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 39,700 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

After Biden’s decision not to seek reelection on Nov. 5 and his offer of "full support and endorsement" for Harris to be the Democratic Party’s nominee, she officially launched her presidential campaign.