President Isaac Herzog met US Vice President JD Vance in Jerusalem, thanking him and President Trump for their efforts to advance peace and expressing hope for the swift return of all hostages.

President Isaac Herzog met on Wednesday with Vice President JD Vance at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

“Welcome, Vice President JD Vance, you and your wife, our dear guests, friends. The nation of Israel is overjoyed that you’re here. On a personal level, I must tell you I’m a huge fan of your book since I have believed all my life in the fact that we should assume responsibility and help people who are underprivileged with tools that will give them a real chance. I was always impressed by your story and the way it was told in this incredible book, thank you for that,” Herzog said in remarks to the media following the meeting.

“On your visit, you know our former Prime Minister, the late Yitzchak Rabin, used to say when he tried to reach peace over 30 years ago, and was assassinated in the plight for peace – he said that the torments of peace are much better than the agony of war. I truly believe that the fact you’re here is another brick in building the future for peace. And thank you for that. Thank President Trump. We are all grateful to President Donald Trump for his steadfast insistence on moving forward,” he added.

“We must move forward. We must offer hope for the region, for Israel, the Palestinians, our neighbors, and for the future of our children. So we are grateful for your efforts. And as the first step, of course, we insist and we want to see all our hostages back for respectful burial. I know you’re going to meet families now. Thank you for that, and let’s hope that your efforts and the Administration’s efforts will lead to immediate results together with the Israeli government and all partners concerned. Thank you very much. And welcome to Israel,” the President concluded.

Vice President Vance responded: “Thank you, President Herzog, it’s great to be with you, and it’s great to be in the Holy Land. We’re thrilled to be welcomed and honored by the kindness and the graciousness of you and your lovely wife.”

“We’re here to talk about peace. 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. 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. 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. So we’ll keep on working on it and working on it together. Thank you.”

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