WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on an unexpected visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources familiar with the meeting. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the visit. The Pentagon declined to comment. Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news of Hegseth’s trip comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu in next week’s parliamentary election in Israel, its first vote since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that shook the country and plunged the Middle East into turmoil, as Israel went to war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition is likely to lose its ruling majority, opinion surveys indicate, though the opposition could also struggle to form a government.
But US Vise President JD Vance refused to back Netanyahu in an interview earlier on Monday, claiming he was not becoming ‘engaged’ in Israeli elections.“I support American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on is the midterms,” Vance, who earlier this year traveled to Budapest and backed Viktor Orban inthe Hungarian election, told digital media source 2WAY.
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