Kamala Harris Avoids Saying Whether Netanyahu Is A "Real Close Ally" Of U.S.

Vice President Kamala Harris expertly avoided two questions about Israel from CBS's Bill Whitaker in this preview clip of a "60 Minutes" interview that will air in full on Monday night.

"Do we have a real close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu?" Harris was 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?" she replied. "The answer to that question is yes."

BILL WHITAKER, CBS NEWS: 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 cease-fire, but he’s resisted. You urged him not to go into Lebanon, and 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?

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: The aid that we have given Israel allowed Israel to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles that were meant to attack the Israelis and the people of Israel. When we think about the threat that Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran present, I think it is without question our imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself from those kinds of attacks.

Now, the work 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 that would release the hostages and create a cease-fire. We're not going to stop putting that pressure on Israel and in the region, including Arab leaders.

WHITAKER: But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.

HARRIS: 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.

WHITAKER: Do we have a real close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu?

HARRIS: I think, with all due respect, the better question is, do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? The answer to that question is yes.