According to the U.S. vice president, he was not going to Israel to “keep an eye on a toddler.”
On October 22, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Vice President JD Vance meet at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem. (AFP/POOL/Nathan Howard)
As U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Israel to oversee the tenuous ceasefire with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday denied allegations that his country is a protectorate of the United States.
“They claim that Israel rules the United States one week. A week later, they claim that Israel is under US authority. Alongside Vance in Jerusalem, Netanyahu declared, “This is hogwash.” “We have a partnership, an alliance of partners who have similar values and objectives.”
Vance reportedly disputed the notion that the United States wanted Israel to become into a “vassal state” and expressed concern that Netanyahu would want to relaunch the war in Gaza when he landed in Israel on Tuesday.
Vance reportedly disputed the notion that the United States wanted Israel to become into a “vassal state” and expressed concern that Netanyahu would want to relaunch the war in Gaza when he landed in Israel on Tuesday.
He said that his visit was a part of an attempt to monitor the ceasefire and that the objective was to work in “partnership” with Israel to maintain it.
Vance stated that it would require a great deal of work and monitoring. “You know, it’s not about keeping an eye on a kid. Monitoring is necessary because there is a lot of work being done, and many good people are doing it. The administration’s values must continue to make sure that our people are performing their duties as required.
Vance expressed his hope that the ceasefire agreement, which is being negotiated in the wake of the release of the 20 surviving hostages in Gaza, would be a “opportunity to build on the Abraham Accords,” a series of agreements that formed diplomatic relations between Israel and a number of Arab countries during the first Trump administration.
The leaders also talked about the release of hostages and prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from some areas of Gaza, and future administration in Gaza, which is expected to be negotiated after the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. Netanyahu claimed that although he had “very strong opinions” about the possibility of Turkey joining an international security force in Gaza, Israel would be “flexible to accommodate” US interests in the area.
Netanyahu stated that “America’s interest in stabilizing this extremely unstable region is served by a strong Israel, and you can’t stabilize it without a strong Israel.” This is what we talked about today: “We make decisions for Israel’s security, but we also make decisions for the region as a whole, which I believe can serve both.”
