Should she win the US Presidential Election in November, Kamala Harris is expected to stick largely to Joe Biden's foreign policy playbook on key issues - but there is speculation that she may strike a tougher tone with Israel over its ongoing and relentless on Gaza. According to various analysts, on a range of global priorities, a Harris presidency would resemble a second Biden administration. This includes not deviating from Biden's staunch support for NATO and continued backing of Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Harris could also be expected to hold firm against Iran, whose recent nuclear advances have drawn increased US condemnation. Although as vice president she has mostly echoed Biden in firmly backing Israel's right to defend itself after a Hamas-led cross-border raid on 7 October, she has at times stepped out slightly ahead of the president in criticising Israel's military approach. In March, she bluntly criticised Israel, saying it was not doing enough to ease a "humanitarian catastrophe" during its ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave. Later that month, she did not rule out "consequences" for Israel if it launched a full-scale invasion of refugee-packed Rafah in southern Gaza. Such language has raised the possibility that Harris, as president, might take at least a stronger rhetorical line with Israel than Biden, analysts say. However, Harris has an ongoing relationship with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), demonstrated by her 2017 speech at the lobby group's policy conference. She has also previously been public about her private meetings with AIPAC officials.
