US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, US, Aug. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Erica Dischino
US Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris refused to affirm that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu is an “ally” of the United States, dodging a direct question on the subject and fueling doubts about her commitment to the Jewish state.
During an interview with the long-running news program “60 Minutes,” Harris was pressed on the Biden administration’s struggles to secure a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which has totally ruled Gaza since 2007. Journalist Bill Whitaker asked the incumbent US vice president whether Washington, DC wields influence over Netanyahu and whether the Biden administration considers the Israeli prime minister a trusted partner.
“Do we have a real, close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu?” Whitaker asked.
“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,” Harris responded.
Over the course of the interview, Whitaker accused Netanyahu of ignoring American requests to tone down Israeli military activity in Gaza and Lebanon. Harris did not voice disagreement with the journalist’s claims.
“We supply Israel with billions of dollars in military aid. And yet, Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to be charting his own course. The Biden-Harris administration has pressed him to agree to a ceasefire. He’s resisted. You urged him to not go into Lebanon. He went in anyway. He has promised to make Iran pay for a missile attack, and that has the potential of expanding the war. Does the US have no sway under Prime Minister Netanyahu?” Whitaker asked.
US officials have said in recent weeks that Hamas has refused to agree to a ceasefire deal, pointing the finger mainly at the terrorist group’s top leader, Yahya Sinwar.
Meanwhile, Israel has in recent weeks been launching more intensive military operations against the terrorist group Hezbollah, which for the past year has been firing rockets, missiles, and drones at northern Israeli communities almost daily.
Iran, which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah, launched over 180 ballistic missiles at Israel directly. The Jewish state has vowed to respond to the attack.
Harris responded to Whitaker, arguing that American military aid has allowed Israel to “defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles” aimed at killing the Jewish state’s civilians. “It is without any question,” she continued, that the federal government has an “imperative” to help Israel mitigate threats from belligerent entities such as Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah. The vice president added that Israel has an obligation to allow “humanitarian aid” to enter the Gaza Strip and cooperate with ceasefire negotiations.
Harris added that American pressure against Israel has “resulted in a number of movements in that region” that have helped improve living standards for Palestinians in Gaza.
Since ascending to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket in July, Harris has sought to shore up support among the Jewish community as well as the Arab and Muslim communities in the US. The vice president has also been dogged by accusations that she maintains only mild support for Israel.
In an official White House statement commemorating the Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people throughout southern Israel, the vice president vowed to “do everything in my power to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated, that it is never again able to govern Gaza, that it fails in its mission to annihilate Israel, and that the people of Gaza are free from the grip of Hamas.”
In the same statement reflecting on the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Harris dedicated a paragraph to seemingly criticizing the Israeli war effort. The Democratic nominee promised that she “will always fight for the Palestinian people.”
“Hamas’s terrorist attack on Oct. 7 launched a war in Gaza. I am heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza over the past year — tens of thousands of lives lost, children fleeing for safety over and over again, mothers and fathers struggling to obtain food, water, and medicine,” the statement read. “It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people. And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination. We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes.”
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