J D Vance on Gaza ceasefire monitoring push: ‘Not here to monitor Israel’

US Vice President JD Vance said the flurry of visits to Israel by senior Trump administration officials, including himself, was meant to oversee the fragile ceasefire in Gaza rather than to monitor Israel. Speaking after his meeting with  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Vance  stressed that Israel remained a sovereign ally, not a subordinate. “We don’t want a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is,” he said. “We don’t want a client state, and that’s not what Israel is. We want a partnership.”

His comments came just over a week after President Donald Trump’s visit to  Israel, as the United States sought to consolidate the ceasefire and move  forward with its broader Middle East peace strategy. Netanyahu’s office confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would arrive on Friday to meet  with the prime minister, while Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and senior adviser Jared Kushner are in the country for consultations.

At a joint press conference, both leaders rejected the idea that the United States was dictating Israel’s actions or that Israel had become a protectorate. Netanyahu dismissed such claims as “hogwash,” criticising media narratives that alternately depict Israel as either dominating or being dominated by Washington. Vance echoed his view, describing the alliance as one of equals built on shared values and goals. Netanyahu affirmed that while the two nations often agreed on their objectives, Israel alone made decisions about its own security.

Vance acknowledged that the future challenges, including disarming Hamas, rebuilding Gaza, improving life for its residents, and ensuring the militant group could no longer threaten Israel, would be “very, very tough.” Yet, he was hopeful that if the truce held, it would serve as a foundation for a more stable and prosperous region, deepening regional cooperation and expanding the Abraham Accords, which had normalised relations between Israel and several Arab states.

The vice president emphasised that lasting peace would require regional  actors to take greater responsibility for their own security. He discussed with  Netanyahu the creation of a civil administration in Gaza and the establishment of an international security force. However, differences emerged over who might participate in the proposed international security force. Vance mentioned possible contributions from countries such as Turkey and Indonesia, while Netanyahu signalled his opposition to the presence of Turkish personnel in Gaza, reflecting longstanding tensions between the two governments.

While Vance was in Israel, the Knesset narrowly approved a preliminary bill that would extend Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, an act widely condemned as tantamount to annexation and a breach of international law. The 25–24 vote passed despite opposition from Netanyahu and his Likud party, who warned it would harm relations with Washington. The move contradicted President Trump’s previous pledge not to permit annexation of the West Bank. Secretary Rubio, preparing for his visit, had already cautioned that such actions would jeopardise the Gaza plan and undermine regional diplomacy.

At the same time, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that Israel, as the occupying power, must cooperate with United Nations relief agencies operating in Gaza, including UNRWA. The court’s opinion was a response to Israel’s earlier attempts to block the agency’s activities. Israel rejected the ruling, calling it a politically motivated attempt to impose external measures.

Within the Trump administration, some officials privately voiced concern that Netanyahu might abandon the ceasefire. Vance, along with Witkoff and Kushner, was tasked with restraining the Israeli leader from taking any drastic steps. The vice president made it clear to Netanyahu that the Gaza agreement was not an endpoint but a step toward a broader regional transformation that would build on the Abraham Accords. He argued that regional stability and self-reliance among America’s allies would strengthen both the United States and Israel.

“We actually see this as an opportunity to build on the Abraham Accords,” said Vance. “I think this Gaza deal is a critical piece of unlocking the Abraham Accords, but what it could allow is an alliance structure in the Middle East that perseveres, that endures, that allows the good people in this region of the world to step up and take ownership of their own backyard. That’s in the United States’ best interests. I happen to think that’s in Israel’s best interests, too.”

 

Middle East