Israel's ambassador to the US, Mike Herzog, claims that if Israel reaches a deal with Hamas to release the hostages in exchange for a ceasefire, US President Joe Biden will try to credit this to himself.
"Biden will regard this as an achievement and will want to take credit. This is not his main reason, but, of course, there is a political side to this," Herzog said in an interview with Galei Zahal.
Herzog denied claims of a real crisis in US-Israel relations. "We have an agenda, but that does not mean we don't have differences of opinion. The relationship between the two countries is strong, and most of the issues we are dealing with are not visible to the public, but are very important."
Ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress later this month, Herzog said that "the US public is deeply polarized - but during a war where we are fighting on all fronts, the relationship between us has meaning, and I believe that this is the message that will be conveyed here."