A reporter asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Vice President JD Vance during Vance's visit this week to Jerusalem whether the U.S. pressuring Israel to make a peace deal with Hamas makes it an American "vassal state or protectorate.

The vice president was the latest U.S. official to meet with the Israeli PM since a flare-up in violence threatened the truce. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was set to follow Friday.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance sought Wednesday to ease concerns in Israel that the Trump administration was dictating terms to its closest ally in the Middle East, as he and other top U.S. envoys visit Israel this week to support the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

"We want Israel as an ally," Vance said, "and for the US to have less interest in the Middle East. " 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,

Vice President JD Vance said recent visits by top American officials were to monitor the cease-fire, but not “in the sense of, you know, you monitor a toddler.”

Vice President JD Vance left Israel on Thursday with an optimistic note, saying Rafah, a city in the Gaza strip, could be rebuilt in two to three years.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday toured a U.S.-led center in Israel overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, as the Trump administration worked to set up an international security force in the territory and shore up the tenuous truce between Israel and Hamas.