Hegseth meets Netanyahu in unannounced Israel visit

Hegseth has travelled to Israel to meet Netanyahu ahead of a closely contested election, Axios reported, citing sources.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington, DC [File: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an undisclosed visit to Israel, according to Axios.

The meeting between the hawkish ally of US President Donald Trump and the veteran Israeli premier facing a knife-edge election occurred on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.

list 1 of 3 On Iran, Israel’s opposition is even more hawkish than Netanyahu

list 2 of 3 Trump backs Netanyahu: Is the US planning a new Iran attack with Israel?

list 3 of 3 Netanyahu’s new security doctrine: Regional strategy or election ploy?

The Reuters news agency could not immediately confirm the visit. The Pentagon and Israel’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and there was no immediate indication of what they discussed.

President Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday to endorse Netanyahu in next week’s parliamentary election, the first vote since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in 2023 and Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza began.

US President Donald Trump (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands [File: AFP]

Trump praised the prime minister for being an ally of the US in its war on Iran. He added that Netanyahu had his “Complete and Total Endorsement”.

“BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote.

Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition is projected to lose its governing majority, although the opposition may also struggle to form a government, opinion polls suggest.

US 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 travelled to Budapest and endorsed Viktor Orban in Hungarian elections 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.

据 Axios 援引消息人士报道，赫格塞斯已前往以色列与内塔尼亚胡会面，为即将到来的激烈选举做准备。

以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡和美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯在华盛顿特区 [图片：伊芙琳·霍克斯坦/路透社]

据 Axios 报道，美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯在对以色列进行未公开的访问期间会见了以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡。

据 Axios 报道，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的鹰派盟友与面临选情胶着的以色列资深总理于周一举行了会晤。报道援引了两位知情人士的消息。

列表 1/3：关于伊朗问题，以色列反对派的立场甚至比内塔尼亚胡还要鹰派

列表 2/3 特朗普支持内塔尼亚胡：美国是否正计划与以色列联手对伊朗发动新的袭击？

内塔尼亚胡新安全战略的3项举措之3：区域战略还是选举策略？

路透社未能立即证实此次访问。五角大楼和以色列驻华盛顿大使馆也未立即回应置评请求，目前尚不清楚双方讨论了哪些内容。

周日，特朗普总统在其社交媒体平台 Truth Social 上公开支持内塔尼亚胡参加下周的议会选举。这是自 2023 年 10 月 7 日哈马斯领导的袭击事件以及以色列在加沙开始种族灭绝行动以来的首次选举。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普（右）和以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡握手 [图片：法新社]

特朗普称赞内塔尼亚胡是美国在伊朗战争中的盟友，并表示他“完全、彻底地支持”内塔尼亚胡。

“内塔尼亚胡绝不会让你们失望！”特朗普写道。

民意调查显示，内塔尼亚胡的宗教民族主义联盟预计将失去执政多数席位，但反对派也可能难以组建政府。

然而，美国副总统万斯周一早些时候在接受采访时拒绝支持内塔尼亚胡，称他不会介入以色列选举。

“我支持美国候选人，而我关注的重点是中期选举，”万斯在接受数字媒体 2WAY 采访时表示。他今年早些时候曾前往布达佩斯，支持匈牙利总统维克托·欧尔班参加选举。

“我既不反对他，也不支持他；我不会介入以色列选举，”万斯说。