Vice President Harris was pressed on the U.S.’s support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an upcoming interview on CBS News’s “60 Minutes.”
“We supply Israel with billions of dollars in military aid,” correspondent Bill Whitaker said in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “And yet, Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to be charting his own course. The Biden-Harris administration has pressed him to agree to a cease-fire. [He’s] resisted. You urged him not to go into Lebanon. He went in anyway. He has promised to make Iran pay for the missile attack, and that has the potential of expanding the war. Does the U.S. have no sway over Prime Minister Netanyahu?”
“The aid that we have given Israel allowed Israel to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles that were just meant to attack the Israelis and the people of Israel,” Harris said in the interview. “And, when we think about the threat that Hamas, Hezbollah, presents, Iran, I think that it is, without any question, our imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself against those kinds of attacks.”
“Now, the work that we do diplomatically, with the leadership of Israel, is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles, which include the need for humanitarian aid, the need for this war to end, the need for a deal to be done, which would release the hostages and create a cease-fire,” Harris added. “And we’re not gonna stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region, including Arab leaders.”
The interview is set to broadcast at 8 p.m. EST on Monday, according to CBS News.
Tensions in the Middle East have risen sharply in recent weeks, as Israel recently started limited ground incursions into Lebanon and Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel earlier this week.
Whitaker also said during the vice president’s “60 Minutes” appearance that “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.”
“Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things — including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region,” Harris said.
Whitaker then questioned Harris if “we have a real close ally” when it comes to the Israeli prime minister.
“I think, with all due respect, the better question is ‘Do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people?’” Harris said. “And the answer to that question is yes.”
The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office and the Harris campaign.
