Major US pro-Palestinian group comes out against Trump
Democrat Kamala Harris got a potential boost Tuesday after a pro-Palestinian group threatening to draw votes from her in the swing state of Michigan came out strongly against her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.
The Uncommitted movement stopped short of explicitly endorsing Harris but warned in a video on social media that "it can get worse" under Trump.
One of the group's co-founders, Lexi Zeidan, said voters should consider "the better antiwar approach" rather than "who is the better candidate."
The Harris campaign is worried about losing votes in places like Michigan, where anger among the state's large Arab American community over the White House's support for Israeli operations in Gaza and Lebanon has threatened to narrow already thin margins for Democrats.
The Uncommitted shift to openly opposing Trump, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
However, Abandon Harris, another group of anti-war voters, has endorsed fringe Green Party candidate Jill Stein, potentially turning her into a spoiler that would help elect Trump in swing states decided by just a few thousand votes.
Both groups, drawing heavily from Arab, Palestinian and Muslim voters, emerged in protest at President Joe Biden's backing of Israel despite mounting civilian casualties in Gaza.
Harris has attempted to walk a tightrope on the issue, saying at the Democratic presidential nomination she would get a Gaza ceasefire "done" and ensure Palestinians realise their right to "dignity, security, freedom and self-determination."
But Harris has rejected protesters' demands, such as an arms embargo on Israel, a longtime key US ally.
Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed 42,010 people in Gaza, most of them civilians.