TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Vice President JD Vance sought Wednesday to ease concerns in Israel that the Trump administration was dictating terms to its closest ally in the Middle East, as he and other top U.S. envoys visit Israel this week to support the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
“We don’t want in Israel a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is. We want a partnership, we want an ally,” Mr. Vance said beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in response to a reporter’s question about whether Israel was becoming a “protectorate” of the U.S.
Mr. Netanyahu — who will meet with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday — expressed similar sentiments while acknowledging differences of opinion as they push forward the U.S.-proposed ceasefire agreement.
“One week they say that Israel controls the United States. A week later they say the United States controls Israel. This is hogwash. We have a partnership, an alliance of partners who share common values, common goals,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
One concern in Israel is that an international security force in Gaza — envisioned in the ceasefire’s second phase — could limit the Israeli military’s ability to take action in the Palestinian territory if it perceives a threat to its own security.
Mr. Vance acknowledged that the road to long-term peace is challenging, with the ceasefire less than two weeks old, but tried to maintain the buoyant tone he sounded Tuesday after arriving in Israel.
“We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel. That’s not easy,” Mr. Vance said. “There’s a lot of work to do, but I feel very optimistic about where we are.”
Mr. Vance also met with relatives of Israeli hostages. He was accompanied by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Trump’s son-in-law.
The International Court of Justice said on Wednesday that Israel must allow the U.N. aid agency in Gaza, known as UNRWA, to provide humanitarian assistance to the territory.
The Hague-based court was asked last year by the U.N. General Assembly to determine Israel’s legal obligations after the country effectively banned the agency, the main provider of aid to Gaza, from operating there.
Israel “is under the obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities, including UNRWA,” ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said.
Israel has denied it has violated international law, saying the court’s proceedings are biased, and the country didn’t attend hearings in April. UNRWA has faced criticism from Mr. Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who claim the group is deeply infiltrated by Hamas.
Uncertainty surrounds next steps in the ceasefire, including the territory’s postwar governance and the disarming of Hamas.
Mr. Vance said Tuesday officials are brainstorming on the composition of the international security force, mentioning Turkey - with whom Israel has had tense relations in recent years - and Indonesia as countries expected to contribute troops. Vance was flanked by flags from a number of countries expected to participate, including Germany, Denmark and Jordan.
An Israeli official said the issue of Turkish participation in the security force was discussed in the meeting between Vance and Netanyahu, and that Netanyahu expressed his opposition to Turkish troop presence. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing closed diplomatic talks.
Meanwhile, in an apparent effort to embarrass Mr. Netanyahu during Mr. Vance’s visit, far-right politicians in the Israeli parliament on Wednesday took the symbolic step of giving preliminary approval to a bill that would give Israel authority to annex the occupied West Bank — a move that the U.S. opposes.
The bill passed in a 25-24 vote. It is unclear whether the bill has support to win a majority in the 120-seat parliament, and Netanyahu has tools to delay or defeat it.
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