Vance was ‘firm’ about US frustrations towards Israel in meeting with Netanyahu: Report
US Vice President JD Vance delivered a “firm message” from Trump during a meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the conversation who were granted anonymity by the US outlet.
Israeli attacks on Sunday, which killed more than 40 Palestinian civilians, were seen by senior US officials as Israel acting “out of control,” one of the sources said.
The public comments “reflect how the president feels” about Israeli actions following the ceasefire, Politico reported, quoting a White House official who also spoke anonymously.
As we’ve been reporting, US officials, including Trump, have also criticised the Israeli parliament’s new West Bank annexation bill, a move analysts see as an unusual break from Washington’s support for Israeli policy.
- Trump said “Israel is not going to do anything with the West Bank” amid growing condemnation of an Israeli parliamentary motion passed on Wednesday that seeks to formally annex the occupied Palestinian territory.
- Earlier yesterday, in an interview with Time Magazine, Trump said that the US is firmly against Israeli annexation. “It won’t happen. It won’t happen. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. And you can’t do that now,” Trump told Time.
- Trump continued to Time: “We’ve had great Arab support. It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. It will not happen. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”
- US Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, while in Israel also said that Trump’s policy remains that the occupied West Bank won’t be annexed by Israel, calling the parliamentary vote in favour of annexation a “very stupid political stunt” that he “personally” takes some insult from.
Trump expects Saudi Arabia to sign the Abraham Accords in return in November.
America’s 51st state? US pressure comes to bear on Israel
A succession of high-ranking US officials have found themselves in Israel in recent days – first special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner on Monday, then Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday.
Their focus has been clear – to stop the US-backed Gaza ceasefire deal from collapsing. And that essentially means ensuring that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not back out of the agreement, which ended two years of war earlier this month.
The presence of the US officials in Israel has been described as “babysitting” – designed to twist the arm of a far-right government itching to find any excuse to relaunch the war, which killed more than 68,000 Palestinians.
