Israeli officials: Bad relations with US may endanger US aid to Israel - report

Senior Israeli security officials have told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his  fraught relationship with the Biden administration may endanger US military aid to Israel, Channel 13 reported on Saturday.

According to the report, during a war cabinet discussion, the officials stated that the worsening situation with the Biden administration could harm future US aid to Israel. The officials emphasized such tensions were only escalating amid the upcoming US elections. 

Vice President Harris's remarks

The report comes amid the ongoing claims of a rift between Netanyahu and the Biden administration.

In remarks made in a CBS interview on Saturday Vice President Kamala Harris clearly signaled the administration's growing rift with Netanyahu's government. 

In the interview,  she distinguished between the Israeli people and their government.

Harris stated "It's important to distinguish and to not conflate the Israeli government with the Israeli people. The Israeli people are entitled to security, as are the Palestinians, in equal measure. 

“Our work as the United States is to do what we must, and what we always have, is stand for the security of Israel and its people, and also to do what we have done behind closed doors as in public, forcing a better path forward in terms of what is happening now in Gaza."

Harris also shared the administration's fears regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. "Far too many Palestinian civilians, innocent people have been killed."

She also stated "Israel has to do better on that issue and needs to allow more aid to get in," reiterating US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller's stance last week. 

Harris further noted, "We need a ceasefire over the course of six weeks to be able to facilitate support getting in for these innocent civilians who so desperately need it. It is a humanitarian catastrophe, as I have said, and it must be addressed."