It was a day thick with meaning — and Vice President JD Vance knew it.
“These are days of destiny,” Vance declared Wednesday in Jerusalem, standing shoulder to shoulder with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they worked to advance the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
“We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said.
“That’s not easy. I think the prime minister knows that as well as anybody. But it’s something that we’re committed to in the Trump administration,” he continued. “And I think that we’ve, even in the past 24 hours, had a lot of good conversations with our friends in the Israeli government, but also, frankly, with our friends in the Arab world who are stepping up and volunteering to play a very positive role in this.”
“As the prime minister said, these are days of destiny, and we’re very excited to sit down and work together on the Gaza peace plan,” Vance added.
Netanyahu, for his part, told reporters that Israel’s alliance with the United States remains unmatched — a partnership, he said, that continues to generate new opportunities for peace and security across the Middle East.
Later, Vance met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and spoke with the same air of realism and resolve.
“We’re here to talk about how to ensure that the peace agreement that started about a week ago sticks, that we move into phase two, into phase three with success,” he said.
The deal, which included the release of hostages held by Hamas, remains fragile but filled with promise.
“As the president said, there will be torments along the way. It will be difficult, but I feel very optimistic based on my conversation with our Israeli friends and also with our Gulf Arab friends, that it’s possible that we actually can make peace stick, and that we can create the kind of environment where our Gulf Arab friends and our Israeli friends can build a better Middle East for everybody,” Vance said. “So that is the goal of the administration. We think that it’s in the best interest of the United States. We also think that it’s in the best interest of everybody who lives here.”
Measured. Hopeful. And unmistakably historic.
Watch the clips below:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
"A few days ago we had a historic visit by President @realDonaldTrump, that will be etched in the annals of our nation's history. We're fortunate today to have a visit by the @VP JD Vance.
Full remarks >>https://t.co/E7G2JBjYWu pic.twitter.com/UVxP0IwGtY
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 22, 2025
NOW: Vice President Vance meets with Israeli President Herzog to discuss the next phase of the ceasefire agreement, saying he's "optimistic" that they can make peace stick. pic.twitter.com/Gac3qbsb3C
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 22, 2025
