 "'Hogwash': Netanyahu says US, Israel are partners, not in a 'control' dynamic")
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday rejected the notion that Israel is a client state of the United States, dismissing the idea as “hogwash” following his meeting with US Vice President JD Vance.
“I want to put it very clearly,” Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu as saying 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,” he added.
Netanyahu emphasised the strength and balance of the US-Israel relationship, describing it as a strategic partnership rooted in shared values and goals.
“We have a partnership, an alliance of partners,” said Netanyahu, adding, “We can have discussions, we can have disagreements here and there, but on the whole, I have to say that in the past year we’ve had agreement — agreement not only on goals but how to reach them.”
Netanyahu said Israel has effectively taken the lead in its military campaign against Hamas while also working in coordination with the United States on the diplomatic front.
He said Israel has succeeded in “putting the knife at Hamas’s throat, that was the military effort guided by Israel, and the other effort was to isolate Hamas in the Arab and Muslim world, which I think the (US) president did brilliantly with his team.”
Vice President Vance echoed Netanyahu’s comments, emphasising the nature of the bilateral relationship as one of equals.
“We don’t want a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is,” Times of Israel quoted Vance as saying.
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More Shorts“We don’t want a client state, and that’s not what Israel is. We want a partnership. We want an ally here,” he added.
He said the US envisions a Middle East where regional powers, led by allies like Israel and Gulf states, take greater responsibility.
“The president believes that Israel, with our Gulf Arab allies, can play a very positive leadership role in this region — to where frankly the United States can care less about the Middle East because our allies in the region are stepping up, and taking control and taking ownership of their area of the world,” said Vance.
He said caring less about the Middle East doesn’t mean that US doesn’t have interests here.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t care about what happens here. But we actually see this as an opportunity to build on the Abraham Accords. I think this Gaza deal is a critical piece of unlocking the Abraham Accords, but what it could allow is an alliance structure in the Middle East that perseveres, that endures, that allows the good people in this region of the world to step up and take ownership of their own backyard. That’s in the United States’ best interests. I happen to think that’s in Israel’s best interests, too,” he added.
Netanyahu agreed, saying, “We make the decisions for the security of Israel. But we make common decisions for the region which I think can serve us both.”
With inputs from agencies
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