what does the first presidential debate tell us about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris's views on Gaza both candidates were asked how they would secure a ceasefire agreement between Israel's government and Hamas Harris said she supported Israel's right to defend itself but how it did so matters calling for a ceasefire and a two-state solution I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself in particular as it rates to as it relates to Iran and any threats at Iran and its proxies posed to Israel but we must have a two-state solution where we can rebuild Gaza where the Palestinians have security self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve Trump on the other hand said if he were president the war would not have started before switching to talk about Putin he then accused Harris of hating Israel saying if she were president Israel would not exist within 2 years just for good measure he added that she also hates the Arab population because the whole place is going to get blown up she hates Israel if she's president I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now and I've been pretty good at predictions and I hope I'm wrong about that one she hates Israel at the same time in her own way she hates the Arab population because the whole place is going to get blown up Trump has previously caused himself the best friend Israel has ever had saying any Jewish person voting for a Democrat should have their head examined but Jewish Americans favor Harris over Trump by 72% to 25% according to a recent poll by the Jewish Democratic Council of America so what do we know about their policies and what can we expect from either candidate as president Trump broke with much of standard US policy towards Israel and Palestine he recognized Jerusalem as Israel's Capital Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as legal contradicting international law and Syria's occupied Goen Heights as part of Israel he also ended us funding for the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council due to anti-israel bias and closed the pl's Diplomatic mission to Washington Trump also normalized relations between Israel and four Arab countries something previously dependent on a two-state solution and proposed a peace plan without consulting Palestinians that would have given pales Ians just 15% of historic Palestine while Kamala Harris has not served as president her record as Senator and vice president is similarly skewed she opposes any arms restrictions on Israel instead promising to ensure America would have the strongest most lethal fighting force in the world and that Israel would always be able to defend itself as a senator she was described as more APAC than J Street by the Jewish telegraphic agency suggesting she's more conservative than liberal on Israel policy issues she has spoken at two APAC policy conferences rebuked a un Security Council resolution condemning Israel's settlement policies and opposed the boycott divestment and sanctions movement many also criticized her for not giving Palestinians a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in August but she was also among the half of Democrats to not attend Israeli presid Minister netanyahu's speech to Congress in July one of the first in Biden's Administration to emphasize the humanitarian suffering in Gaza and has repeated the need to hold extremist settlers accountable and reach a two-state solution with a strengthened Palestinian Authority however critics see these actions merely as an effort to win back the progressive wing of the democratic party alienated by Biden's Israel policy before November's elections rather than sincere policies both candidates have tried to paint each other as weak and incorrect on foreign policy with Trump blaming Regional escalation in the Middle East on the Biden Harris Administration Iran was broke under Donald Trump now Iran has $300 billion because they took off all the sanctions that I had Iran had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah or any of the 28 different uh spheres of Terror now they're a rich nation and now what they're doing is they're spreading that money around look at what's happening with the houis and Yemen look at what's going on in the Middle East this would have never happened but the impact of Trump's policies is debated Trump's exit from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 has allowed Iran to resume its nuclear program enriching its uranium to weapons grade levels according to the international atomic energy agency in 2019 haris said she would rejoin the deal if Iran complied critic also argue that Trump's staunch support of Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen ultimately helped expand the houthi presence and Iran support for the group as president Trump blocked bills calling both to end us involvement in the war and to freeze arms exports to the kingdom both bills Harris supported but for all their tough talk the question remains is any US president willing to pressure Netanyahu into the ceasefire that 87% of Jewish Americans say they want according to polling or will the paralysis continue into election night and Beyond