Harris won't say whether the U.S. has "a real close ally" in Netanyahu
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
CBS' Bill Whitaker with Vice President Kamala Harris during their "60 Minutes" interview that airs on Monday. Photo: CBS News/"60 Minutes"
Vice President Kamala Harris during her "60 Minutes" interview was pressed on the United States' relationship with Israel, according to an excerpt that CBS News released on Sunday.
Why it matters: The interview airs on Monday, which marks one year since Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel — and Harris provided a carefully worded response to CBS' Bill Whitaker on the question of whether the U.S. has "a real close ally" in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
What she's saying: "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 replied.
The big picture: Harris is expected to discuss a range of subjects during Monday evening's "60 Minutes" election special that former President Trump declined to participate in.
- On the Middle East, CBS' preview shows Whitaker pressed Harris on Netanyahu's reluctance so far for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza and for Israeli forces "not to go into Lebanon," despite U.S. calls for these.
- More than 41,600 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 60% of buildings in Gaza destroyed or damaged since last October.
- Lebanese health officials have reported more than 2,000 killed in the same period, with most occurring since late last month after Israeli officials launched what they described as "targeted raids" on Hezbollah in the country.
Zoom in: Whitaker noted during the "60 Minutes" interview that airs at 8pm ET that the U.S. supplies Israel with "billions of dollars in military aid" and yet Netanyahu "seems to be charting his own course."
- Harris responded that the aid the U.S. had given Israel allowed it "to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles that were just meant to attack" the people of Israel.
- "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," she said.
- "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 ceasefire," Harris added.
- "And we're not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region, including Arab leaders."
When Whitaker noted that it seems Netanyahu is not listening, Harris said 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."
More from Axios:
