Israel and the US have the "difficult tasks ahead," of disarming Hamas and ensuring it no longer poses a threat to Israel while also rebuilding Gaza, US Vice President JD Vance told the press at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
"We have a 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," Vance said. "It's not easy. I think the prime minister knows that as well as anybody. But it's something that we are committed to in the Trump administration."
"I think we've had a lot of good conversations with our friends in the Israeli government, but also with our friends in the Arab world who are stepping up and volunteering to play a very positive role in this. So we're going to keep working at it."
Just before the press briefing, Vance told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during their meeting to discuss the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza, that expanding the Abraham Accords could lead to long-term regional stability.
Expanding the Abraham Accords
"We want Israel as an ally, and for the US to have less interest in the Middle East," Vance said to Netanyahu, "Expanding the Abraham Accords will allow for [regional] stability that will hopefully last."
"In the last year, we've had an unmatched alliance and a partnership with the United States," Netanyahu went on, saying that Vance had impressed him with his visit. "That is changing the Middle East, and it's also changing the world."
"We are not an American protectorate," Netanyahu emphasized. "Israel will have the final say regarding her security."
"We don't want a protectorate," Vance responded, noting that he is "optimistic that the ceasefire will hold."