The Difficult Art of Bibi-Sitting
Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report. U.S. President Donald Trump’s flurry of diplomacy continues, with the White House confirming that he will make the first trip to Asia of his second term next week. Negotiations on Ukraine and the Middle East continue apace.
On that note, here’s what’s on tap for the day: The Trump administration keeps a close eye on the cease-fire in Gaza, the U.S. treasury secretary unveils new sanctions against Russia, and Trump’s war against alleged drug boats expands to the Pacific.
Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Situation Report. U.S. President Donald Trump’s flurry of diplomacy continues, with the White House confirming that he will make the first trip to Asia of his second term next week. Negotiations on Ukraine and the Middle East continue apace.
On that note, here’s what’s on tap for the day: The Trump administration keeps a close eye on the cease-fire in Gaza, the U.S. treasury secretary unveils new sanctions against Russia, and Trump’s war against alleged drug boats expands to the Pacific.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner were all in Israel this week as part of an effort to hold together a fragile cease-fire in Gaza. The truce faced a major test last weekend with renewed Israeli airstrikes that killed dozens of Palestinians, which Israel said were conducted in response to a Hamas attack. The cease-fire survived but remains on thin ice.
With so many top U.S. officials visiting the region, Vance sought on Wednesday to push against the notion that Washington was seeking to babysit the Gaza truce and tell Israel what to do—or as some in the Israeli media have called it: Bibi-sitting.
Vance said that the United States is not looking to “monitor a toddler” in Israel and views the country as an important partner, not a “vassal state.” But it’s clear that the Trump administration, which has already taken a victory lap over its Gaza peace plan with misleading declarations of the war being over, is nervous that the process could fall apart. During his visit to Israel, Vance said he’s optimistic about the cease-fire but acknowledged that there’s still “a lot of work to do.”
Here’s a look at what’s next on the administration’s agenda in the peace process.
Stabilizing forces. Trump’s plan calls for the establishment of an international stabilization force that will be temporarily deployed in Gaza to help with security issues and train a Palestinian police force. Vance © Foreign Policy





















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