US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday, seven and a half years after Mike Pence became the last vice president to visit – the longest gap between vice-presidential visits in recent memory – but only eight days after US President Donald Trump’s lightning trip to Jerusalem.
The eight-day interval appears to be unprecedented in modern American diplomatic history – rarely, if ever, have a sitting president and vice president visited the same foreign country in such rapid succession.
The close timing illustrates the extraordinary urgency the Trump administration is attaching to the fragile Gaza ceasefire and its determination to preserve this diplomatic breakthrough.
Vance’s trip indicates recognition in Washington that the deal, while groundbreaking, remains precarious, and that the war could easily reignite. Vance’s presence indicates how eager the administration is to prevent that outcome and solidify the ceasefire, which it sees as the cornerstone of a broader regional realignment and peace deal.
Vance’s visit adds political weight to the efforts already being carried out by Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have been in Israel since Monday to monitor implementation of the agreement and ensure it does not unravel.
In a 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday, journalist Lesley Stahl jokingly referred to the pair as “Bibi-sitters,” suggesting that over the last couple of weeks, their mission was to ensure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with the deal.
And if they were needed in that role earlier this month to push the agreement through the cabinet, they are clearly required again now – after Hamas infractions that include the killing of two IDF soldiers on Sunday, the wounding of two more soldiers on Tuesday, and the painfully slow return of the bodies of the remaining Israeli hostages.
US 'staying on top of everyone'
In that same interview, Kushner was asked how confident he was that the ceasefire would hold. “We just have to stay on top of everyone,” he replied, “and try to make sure that everyone works hard to create the best outcome possible. This is a very difficult situation and a very difficult dynamic.”
It’s fair to say that with Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner all in Israel, the United States is indeed “staying on top of everyone” – at least on top of Jerusalem.
The New York Times on Tuesday quoted anonymous Trump officials as saying there is concern within the administration that Netanyahu may “vacate” the deal, and that the three top American officials are in Israel to keep him from resuming an all-out war on Hamas.
If Netanyahu were to do so, it would obviously not be in a vacuum, but rather as a result of Hamas infringements of the agreement, as was the case on Sunday with the killing of the two soldiers.
One of the lessons learned from the October 7 massacre is to make sure agreements are honored and not to ignore infractions in the hope they will go away and quiet will prevail.
The presence in Israel now of Vance, Kushner, and Witkoff is to keep up the momentum generated by last week’s signing of the agreement and the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh. The next step – far more complex – will be moving into the second phase of the deal: establishing an international stabilization force that would disarm Hamas and oversee the gradual demilitarization of Gaza.
But if the Americans are staying on top of Israel, who is “staying on top” of Hamas to ensure it lives up to its commitments?
The early signs of the terrorist organization doing so are not overly encouraging. The killing of the IDF soldiers and the delayed release of hostages suggest that Hamas, true to form, is testing the limits of the ceasefire and probing how far it can push without provoking a renewed Israeli response.
Trump himself, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, made it clear that he was paying close attention.
Contrary to a New York Times report that claimed Washington was struggling to find countries willing to deploy troops to confront Hamas, Trump wrote that “numerous allies in the Mideast and beyond have explicitly and strongly, with great enthusiasm, informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into GAZA with a heavy force and ‘straighten out Hamas’ if Hamas continues to act badly, in violation of their agreement with us.”
“There is still hope that Hamas will do what is right,” he added. “If they do not, an end to Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL!”
In other words, while Vance, Witkoff, and Kushner are in Israel “Bibi-sitting,” Trump is sending a blunt message to Hamas: Cooperate or face severe consequences.
Witkoff, in his 60 Minutes interview, recalled that before the deal was finalized, Trump worked to bridge the cavernous mistrust between Israel and Hamas by making one thing clear: “We will stand behind this deal. We will not allow the terms of this deal, by any party, to be violated.”
Vance’s visit is a further sign that Trump is serious. And now comes the test – not only of the ceasefire itself, but of Trump’s ability to enforce it and see that his 20-point ceasefire plan is implemented.