Harris avoids question on whether Israel’s Netanyahu is ‘close ally’ of US
Washington (Quds News Network)- US Vice President Kamala Harris avoided a direct answer to a question on whether Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can be considered a “close ally” of the US.
In an excerpt of an interview with CBS News’s 60 Minutes, which was released on Sunday, Harris was pressed on what the US is doing to get its top ally to end its military offensive in the Gaza Strip and stop its attacks on Lebanon.
Harris, the Democratic candidate in November’s presidential election, replied the US has been applying pressure on Israel – as well as on Arab leaders in the region – to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal and would continue to do so.
“The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel,” she said, without providing more details.
Harris was then asked if the United States had a “real, close ally” in Netanyahu.
“I think, with all due respect, the better question is, do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is ‘yes’,” she replied.
Monday, on a 60 Minutes election special, Bill Whitaker asks Vice President Kamala Harris if the U.S. lacks influence over American ally Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. https://t.co/TG3WOCA23A pic.twitter.com/IH6MXMjuCP
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 6, 2024
For months, analysts have accused Netanyahu of holding up a possible Gaza ceasefire agreement for his own political purposes.
