KIRYAT GAT, ISRAEL- Vice President JD Vance warned against rooting for failure in the shaky Israel-Hamas ceasefire, as he kicked off a whirlwind trip to shore up President Donald Trump's signature foreign policy priority.
"There is this weird attitude almost this desire to root for failure," Vance said at a military installation North of Gaza. "This is not the end."
A major flare-up in fighting over the weekend raised concerns that the Trump-negotiated ceasefire would end, and Vance is in Israel for days of meetings to ensure that both sides work toward peace
While the first phase of Trump's 20-point peace plan remains in place, Vance is now tasked with advancing talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the second phase, tackling longer-term issues to solidify peace in the region.
No American troops in Gaza
Vance said he would not force anything on Israel, saying the nation would have to agree on what troops would be on the ground in Israel, and said there would be no American troops in Gaza.
When asked about what future governance in Gaza would look like, the vice president said he didn’t know.
While Vance urged patience and optimism in his remarks, he also repeated the president’s threats against Hamas, warning there would be consequences if the militant group does not disarm.
“Right now, where I stand, I feel confident that we’re going to be in a place where it’s durable, and if Hamas doesn’t cooperate, then as the president said, it will be obliterated.”
Trump on Oct. 20 threatened to "eradicate" Hamas if it continues to violate the ceasefire deal, adding his threat would not open the door to placing United States troops on the ground, instead pointing to potential military action from other nations.
U.S. isn't giving Hamas a deadline
Vance declined to say how much time Hamas has to lay down its arms before Trump authorizes Israel or other countries to take miltary action.
"If Hamas doesn't comply with the deal, very bad things are going to happen. But I'm not going to do, what the president of the United States has thus far refused to do, which is to put an explicit deadline on it, because a lot of this stuff is difficult, a lot of this stuff is unpredictable," Vance said.
Disarmament of Hamas and the governance of Gaza remain the top sticking points in this next phase of negotiations, after the first phase centered on the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Vance told reporters he did not think was advisable for the administration to set a deadline for Hamas to disarm, "because a lot of this work is very hard, it's never been done before, and in order for us to give it a chance to succeed, we've got to be a little bit flexible."
"I think what you're seeing from our Gulf Arab friends, certainly from our Israeli friends, is a certain amount of impatience from Hamas, but we're going to keep on working at this process."
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two envoys who helped the administration negotiate the initial ceasefire deal, held their own talks with Netanyahu on Oct. 20. They briefed Vance upon his arrival in Tel Aviv at his news conference on Oct. 21.
Isarel and Hamas have accused each other of violations of the agreement since it was agreed to eight days ago, and, on Oct. 19, the Israeli military announced it had targeted dozens of Hamas targets across southern Gaza in response to an attack on Israeli soldiers that killed two. Israel responded with airstrikes that Gaza health authorities said killed 28 people, Reuters reported.
Hamas has also accused Israel of committing a series of violations that it says killed 46 people and prevented the flow of aid to the region.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'This is not the end.' Vance seeks to salvage shaky Hamas ceasefire in whirlwind Israel trip
Reporting by Francesca Chambers and Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect