Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that as a sovereign state, Israel would determine its security policy and which foreign forces to work with.
Netanyahu said, "Over the past month, we have been witnessing ridiculous claims regarding the relationship between the United States and Israel. When I was in Washington, it was said there that I controlled the American administration, that I dictated its security policy to it. Now, the opposite is being claimed – the American administration controls me and dictates Israel's security policy."
"Neither of these is true. Israel is an independent country; the United States is an independent country. The relations between us are relations between partners," he continued.
"We do not seek anyone's approval for this. We are in control of our security, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate," Netanyahu said at the outset of a cabinet meeting.
"This is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days."
Ally, not protectorate
Netanyahu's insistence that Israel will act independently from the US comes days after US Vice President JD Vance made a similar statement while visiting Israel.
"We want Israel as an ally, and for the US to have less interest in the Middle East," Vance said to Netanyahu while discussing his hopes for expanding the Abraham Accords.
"In the last year, we've had an unmatched alliance and a partnership with the United States," Netanyahu went on, saying that Vance had impressed him with his visit. "That is changing the Middle East, and it's also changing the world."
"We are not an American protectorate," Netanyahu emphasized. "Israel will have the final say regarding her security."
"We don't want a protectorate," Vance responded, noting that he is "optimistic that the ceasefire will hold."