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Why Netanyahu is Harris’ election nightmare

The Israeli prime minister continues to thumb his nose at Washington, and a wider war might well be the very October surprise Kamala Harris fears.

James Curran
James CurranInternational editor

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When Joe Biden visited Tel Aviv only a fortnight after the Hamas attacks last October 7, he brought a message of restraint for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He warned of the folly of allowing vengeance to dictate policy choices. Israel should not take the same escalatory path as America after the 9/11 attacks. After quickly subduing the Taliban in Afghanistan, Washington invaded Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. He warned Israel would “lose credibility worldwide” if it pursued a similar course.

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James Curran is The Australian Financial Review’s International Editor and professor of modern history at Sydney University.

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    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/why-netanyahu-is-harris-election-nightmare-20240926-p5kdrc