Ms Harris dodged the question of whether she considered Mr Netanyahu an 'ally'

In an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday night, Harris was asked how the United States could provide Israel with billions of dollars in military aid while seemingly having "no influence" over Netanyahu.

After a rambling answer in which she asserted that the US had pushed Netanyahu closer to ending the ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon, Ms Harris was asked whether the US had “a truly close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu?”

“I think, with all due respect, the better question is whether we have a vital alliance between the American people and the Israeli people,” she replied. “And the answer to that question is yes.”

Since replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee in July, Harris’s stance on Israel has been criticized by both the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian factions of her party. In an apparent attempt to appease both sides, Harris announced her support for an independent Palestinian state at the Democratic National Convention in August, before immediately promising to continue supplying Israel with weapons and ammunition.

Netanyahu, who is widely expected to support Donald Trump in the upcoming US presidential election, has spoken to and met with Biden and Harris several times since he declared war on Hamas last October. After those conversations, Biden and Harris both claimed that the Israeli leader was moving toward a ceasefire, but Netanyahu returned to Israel and vowed to continue waging war.

Most recently, U.S. and other Western officials said last month that Netanyahu had agreed to a cease-fire proposal put forward by the U.S. and France, but backed out at the last minute and ordered the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Two days later, he defied U.S. calls to de-escalate tensions by sending ground troops into Lebanon, and on Oct. 1 he vowed to make Iran “pay” for a missile attack on Israel, despite U.S. officials urging him to avoid any steps that could spark a wider regional war.

“Whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know,” Biden told reporters on October 4. Biden reminded the Israeli leader: “No administration has ever done more for Israel than mine,” he said. “And I think (Netanyahu) should remember that.”