After meeting in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Vice President JD Vance rejected claims that Israel is an American “client state” and emphasized their partnership in working to implement Washington’s plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

The two discussed progress on the next phases of the plan, including Hamas disarmament and Gaza reconstruction, with Vance describing the deal as an opportunity to strengthen regional alliances.

Vance had arrived in Israel the previous day, whereupon he projected confidence in US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan at a press conference held in the new US-Israel ceasefire coordination center in Kiryat Gat.

Top White House aides Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived on Monday — like Vance, to advance and bolster the Gaza plan — and reportedly departed on Wednesday afternoon.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to arrive in the country on Thursday, a US official told The Times of Israel, and Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian later confirmed this, telling reporters that Rubio would meet Netanyahu on Friday.

“This is the secretary of state’s third trip to Israel since mid-September, which further shows the hand-in-hand relationship that Israel and the United States have as we mark this historic time,” she said.

Netanyahu and Vance had a private sit-down on Wednesday morning before holding an expanded meeting with their aides. In joint remarks after the meetings, both leaders pushed back at the notion that Israel acts at Washington’s behest, framing the bond between their countries as one of equals working toward shared strategic goals.

“I want to put it very clearly,” the premier said in response to a question. “One week, they say that Israel controls the United States. A week later, they say the United States controls Israel. This is hogwash.”

“We have a partnership, an alliance of partners,” said Netanyahu, “who share common values and common goals. We can have discussions, we can have disagreements here and........

© The Times of Israel