WASHINGTON: US vice-president JD Vance said he would not be following Donald Trump in endorsing Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and wanted to stay on the sidelines.
"I'm not anti-endorsing him. I'm not pro-endorsing him. I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections," Vance said of Netanyahu, in an interview Monday with journalist Mark Halperin.
"I endorse American candidates and that's where I'm focused on is the (US) midterms," he added.
Trump on Sunday issued a public endorsement of his right-wing ally Netanyahu, who is seeking a new term as premier in Israel's Oct 27 parliamentary election.
Vance's reticence to weigh in on the Israeli vote contrasts with his approach to European elections.
Days before Hungary's parliamentary election in April, he flew to Budapest to support then-prime minister Viktor Orban, another right-wing figure.
He has also voiced support for Germany's far-right AfD party, whose leader, Alice Weidel, he met last year.
Vance, who is widely viewed as aiming to succeed Trump in 2029, reportedly expressed opposition to launching the US-Israeli war with Iran, but has since defended the campaign.
The vice-president also had notably strong words for Israeli officials who criticised a short-lived US-Iran ceasefire agreement in June.
"Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment," he said at the time.
"If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world," he added.