U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on Thursday night.
“Secretary Rubio, Marco, welcome again to Jerusalem,” Netanyahu told Washington’s top diplomat in brief remarks following their meeting.
“We’ve had incredible visits, first by President Trump in the Knesset, something that will be etched in our history. We had the vice president yesterday, we have you today—this is a circle of trust and partnership,” according to the premier.
Rubio has been an “extraordinary friend of Israel,” he said, “and now we face days of destiny. We want to advance peace. We still have security challenges, but I think that we can work together, and by working together, both address the challenges and seize the opportunities.”
Rubio told reporters, “We’re back here just a few, just a little bit over a week after a historic day, where President Trump’s work with our partners led to this extraordinary breakthrough.”
“Now, we have more work ahead of us,” he continued, “but we feel very positive about it; we’re making good progress. It’s amazing that in just seven or eight days, the kind of things and systems that have been set up.”
According to the secretary of state, “no one is under any illusions—we’ve already done the impossible once and we intend to keep doing that, and we can. We have good partners that we’re working on.”
Washington feels “confident and positive” about the progress while remaining “clear-eyed about the challenges too,” he concluded.
Rubio touched down in the Jewish state on Thursday for a three-day visit “to support the successful implementation of President Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Conflict in Gaza,” according to a State Department statement.
“During his visit, the Secretary will reaffirm America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and engage with partners to build on the historic momentum towards durable peace and integration in the Middle East,” it added.
Rubio arrives as U.S. Vice President JD Vance has been in the Jewish state since Tuesday, and after the arrival a day earlier of White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and former senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner.
On Wednesday, Vance met with Netanyahu, who hailed the “unmatched alliance” between Jerusalem and Washington under the Trump administration.
“In the last year, we’ve had an unmatched alliance and partnership with the United States that is changing the Middle East, and it’s also changing the world,” Netanyahu said. “It creates opportunities not only for security, but for the expansion of peace, which we’re working on very, very diligently.”
He praised the “tight-knit and trusting partnership” with Vance and other top U.S. officials. “I’ve been through several administrations. I welcome the partnership and the assistance we’ve had, but there’s never been anything like that,” he said.
Vance thanked Netanyahu for the country’s hospitality, saying he was “very excited to sit down and work together” on advancing the White House’s peace plan for the Gaza Strip.
“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 in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” said Vance.
Vance noted Washington was working closely not only with Israel but also with “friends in the Arab world” who are seeking a “positive role,” declaring, “We have an opportunity to do something really historic.”
