As Israel\u2019s war on Gaza nears one-year anniversary, Kamala Harris repeats gov\u2019t line that US is pushing for ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US Vice President Kamala Harris<\/u><\/a> has skirted a question on whether Benjamin Netanyahu can be considered a \u201cclose ally\u201d of the United States, as critics accuse the Israeli prime minister of stymying Washington\u2019s stated goal of de-escalation in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an excerpt of an interview with CBS News\u2019s 60 Minutes, which was released on Sunday, Harris was pressed on what the US is doing to get its top ally to end its military offensive in the Gaza Strip and stop its attacks on Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris, the Democratic candidate in November\u2019s presidential election, said the US has been applying pressure on Israel \u2013 as well as on Arab leaders in the region \u2013 to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal<\/u><\/a> and would continue to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel,\u201d she said, without providing details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris was then asked if the United States had a \u201creal, close ally\u201d in Netanyahu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI 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 \u2018yes\u2019,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The exchange highlights the continued refusal by US President Joe Biden\u2019s administration<\/u><\/a> to change tack and curtail its staunch support for Netanyahu\u2019s government as the Israeli military bombards the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For months, analysts have accused Netanyahu of holding up a possible Gaza ceasefire agreement for his own political purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Observers also warned that Washington\u2019s failure to pressure Israel to end the Gaza war would push the Middle East towards a wider regional conflict \u2013 and rights advocates had urged the Biden administration to impose an arms embargo<\/u><\/a> on the Israeli government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Washington provides Israel with at least $3.8bn in military aid annually, and Biden has greenlit $14bn in additional assistance to the US ally since Israel\u2019s war on the Gaza Strip began in October of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To date, more than 41,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At least 1,100 people also have been killed in Lebanon since the Israeli military \u2013 which had been trading fire with Lebanese group Hezbollah across the Israel-Lebanon border for months \u2013 recently escalated its bombardment<\/u><\/a> of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amid the mounting violence, the Biden administration has repeatedly said it favours diplomacy and wants to see a de-escalation. But senior US officials have also said they support Israel\u2019s \u201cright to defend itself\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cObviously attacks, targeted attacks on civilians, could not be justified, but Israel does have the right to go after terrorists,\u201d US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters last week, when asked about deadly Israeli bombings in Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey need to take actions to mitigate civilian harm. They\u2019re required to do that under international humanitarian law, in Lebanon as they are anywhere else,\u201d Miller added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But critics say such statements have little effect on the actions of Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing government, as the Biden administration has refused to condition US military and diplomatic support for Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPresident Biden has spent a year enabling the Israeli government\u2019s expanding war crimes, violating US laws<\/u><\/a> that require an arms embargo on Israel, and ignoring the majority of Americans who oppose sending more weapons to Israel,\u201d the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow the entire region is in chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Biden administration\u2019s policy has come under renewed criticism as tensions have escalated in recent days between Israel and Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired a barrage of ballistic missiles<\/u><\/a> at Israel in what it said was an act of retaliation for killings in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as the assassinations of top Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Netanyahu has said Iran would \u201cpay\u201d for the attack, raising fears that Israel could strike strategic sites in the country such as Iranian nuclear facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked by reporters last Wednesday whether he would back an attack on Iran\u2019s nuclear sites, Biden said<\/u><\/a> \u201cthe answer is \u2018no’\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US president told reporters that any Israeli response should be \u201cproportional\u201d, without elaborating on what that means exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in Washington, DC, on October 9 to \u201cdiscuss ongoing Middle East security developments\u201d, a Pentagon spokesman said on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n