Hegseth Meets Netanyahu on Unannounced Israel Visit, as Vance Declines to Endorse Netanyahu the Same Day
WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, Reuters reported on October 19, citing an Axios report and two sources with knowledge. Reuters said it could not immediately confirm the visit; the Pentagon declined comment, while Israel's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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 projected to lose its governing majority, although the opposition may also struggle to form a government, opinion polls show.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, however, declined to endorse Netanyahu in an interview earlier on Monday, saying he was not getting involved in Israeli elections. "I endorse American candidates, and that's where I'm focused on is the midterms," Vance, who traveled to Budapest and endorsed Viktor Orban in the Hungarian election earlier this year, said in an interview with digital media outlet 2WAY. "I'm not anti-endorsing him, but I'm not pro-endorsing him, I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections," Vance said.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞思官方肖像。图片来源：美国国防部，公共领域（经Wikimedia Commons）
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