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US Vice President Kamala Harris has sidestepped the question of whether Benjamin Netanyahu can be considered a “close ally” of the United States, as critics accuse the Israeli prime minister of obstructing Washington's stated goal of de-escalation in the Middle East.

In an excerpt from an interview with CBS News' “60 Minutes” published Sunday, Harris was pressed on what the U.S. is doing to pressure its key ally to end its military offensive in Gaza and its attacks on the Strip Stop Lebanon.

Harris, the Democratic nominee in November's presidential election, said the U.S. had put pressure on Israel – as well as Arab leaders in the region – to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement and would continue to do so.

“The work we have done has led to a number of moves by Israel in this region,” she said, without giving details.

Harris was then asked whether 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.

The exchange underscores the continued refusal of US President Joe Biden's administration to change course and limit its steadfast support for Netanyahu's government as the Israeli military bombs the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

For months, analysts have accused Netanyahu of delaying a possible ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip for his own political purposes.

Observers also warned that Washington's failure to pressure Israel to end the Gaza war would push the Middle East into a larger regional conflict – and human rights activists had called on the Biden administration to impose an arms embargo on the Israeli government.

Washington provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually, and Biden has greenlit $14 billion in additional aid to the U.S. ally since Israel's war in Gaza began in October last year .

So far, more than 41,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

At least 1,100 people have also been killed in Lebanon since the Israeli military – which has been engaged in a firefight with the Lebanese Hezbollah group for months across the Israel-Lebanon border – recently stepped up its bombardment of the country.

Amid rising violence, the Biden administration has repeatedly said it favors diplomacy and wants de-escalation. But senior U.S. officials have also said they support Israel's “right to self-defense.”

“Obviously attacks, targeted attacks on civilians, were unjustifiable, but Israel has the right to act against terrorists,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters last week when asked about the deadly Israeli bombings in Lebanon became.

“You must take measures to reduce the harm to civilians. They are obliged to do so under international humanitarian law, in Lebanon as everywhere else,” Miller added.

But critics say such comments have little impact on the actions of Netanyahu's right-wing government, as the Biden administration has refused to condition U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel.

“President Biden has spent a year enabling the Israeli government's increasing war crimes, violating U.S. laws requiring an arms embargo against Israel, and ignoring the majority of Americans who oppose sending more weapons to Israel “, says the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). ) said in a statement on Sunday.

“Now there is chaos throughout the region.”

The Biden administration's policies have come under renewed criticism as tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated in recent days.

Last week, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired a barrage of ballistic missiles into Israel. It was allegedly an act of retaliation for the killings in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as the assassinations of senior Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian leaders.

Netanyahu said Iran would “pay” for the attack, raising fears that Israel could attack strategic sites in the country such as Iranian nuclear facilities.

Asked by reporters last Wednesday whether he would support an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, Biden said: “The answer is 'no.'

The US president told reporters that any Israeli response should be “proportionate,” without elaborating on what exactly that means.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in Washington, DC on October 9 to “discuss ongoing security developments in the Middle East,” a Pentagon spokesman said on Sunday.

On By John Fenwick

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