US Vice President, JD Vance has cautioned that there are challenges ahead in terms of disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza as part of a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.
This came as he and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to reporters following their meeting earlier in West Jerusalem.
“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 of Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel.”
JD Vance
Speaking at the joint press conference with Netanyahu, Vance iterated earlier comments that he is “optimistic” that the ceasefire deal brokered by the US will hold, despite reported violations.
“It’s not easy. I never said it was easy. But what I am is optimistic that the ceasefire is going to hold and that we can actually build a better future for the entire Middle East … But that’s going to require some work.”
JD Vance
At the press conference, Vance commented on the US sending several high-level officials to Israel, saying that it’s not about monitoring the ceasefire, “in the sense of monitoring a toddler” He added, “… It’s important for the administration to make sure our people continue to keep doing what we need them to do.”
Also, the US Vice President opined that the Gaza ceasefire brokered by Washington could pave the way for broader alliances for Israel in the Middle East.
Referring to the series of normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab countries in 2020, Vance said at the press conference in Jerusalem, “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, and that allows the good people in this region, the world, to step up and take ownership of their own backyard.
“That’s in the United States’s best interest. I happen to think it’s in Israel’s best interest, too.”
JD Vance
Additionally, Vance pushed back against the idea that Israel acts as a “vassal state” of the US. “We don’t want a client state and that’s not what Israel is. We want a partnership. We want an ally,” said Vance.
He emphasized that US President, Donald Trump believes that “Israel can play a very strong leadership role” in the region, allowing the US to take more of a back seat.
On his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that ideas for “the day after” in Gaza, particularly how the territory would be governed, had been discussed in his meeting with Vance.
“We’re just creating an unbelievable day after with a completely new vision of how to have the civil government, how to have the security there, who could provide that security there.
“It’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s possible … we’re really creating a peace plan and an infrastructure here where nothing existed even a week and a day ago. That’s going to require a lot of work. It requires a lot of ingenuity.”
Benjamin Netanyahu
Also, Netanyahu said that when handling Israel’s security, “we do what we have to do.”
He asserted that a strong Israel serves America’s interests in “stabilising this very unstable region, and you can’t stabilise it without a strong Israel.”
“So we make the decisions with the security of Israel. We make common decisions, which I think [serve] both, and that’s what we discussed today.”
Benjamin Netanyahu
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