US Vice President Kamala Harris has faced backlash after endorsing unverified and false claims from Israel regarding the October 7 attack by Palestinian resistance fighters.
These claims include accusations that the fighters raped Israeli women and killed around 1,200 Israelis during their assault on Israeli military sites and settlements formerly Arab farms and villages.
Political strategist and commentator Ashish Prashar condemned Harris for perpetuating what he described as “atrocity propaganda” on national television.
“It’s absolutely shameful that Kamala Harris is repeating atrocity propaganda on national TV,” Prashar told TRT World. He accused Harris of spreading these falsehoods to justify Israel’s actions.
During a presidential debate with Donald Trump, Harris chose to ignore the topic of Israel’s extensive military actions in Gaza and instead reiterated Israeli and far-right Western media claims of sexual violence.
“Women were horribly raped,” she falsely stated during the debate. “And so absolutely, I said then I say now Israel has a right to defend itself. We would.”
Harris also claimed that “Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis,” despite evidence suggesting that Israel’s response involved using its controversial Hannibal Directive. This military strategy involves killing both its own soldiers and civilians if they are kidnapped.
Prashar criticized the debate moderators for not fact-checking Harris’s statements as rigorously as they did Trump’s. He called Harris’s comments “the biggest lie of the night,” pointing out the disparity in fact-checking between the two candidates.
“The moderators did what they had to do to Donald Trump but they did no fact-checking on Kamala Harris,” he said.
Regarding the October 7 events, Hamas has claimed that their surprise attack on Israel was in retaliation for Israeli assaults on Al Aqsa Mosque, violence by illegal settlers in the West Bank, and to refocus attention on the Palestinian issue. The attack involved up to 22 locations outside Gaza and resulted in numerous casualties, with some 240 hostages taken. Many of these hostages were later exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.
In response, Israel has conducted heavy bombardments of Gaza, resulting in significant casualties and displacement. The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians, with ongoing efforts to hold Israeli leaders accountable through the International Criminal Court.
