TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel to meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, the Israeli government announced Wednesday.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration works to shore up the Gaza ceasefire deal.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s prime minister toughened his stance Wednesday by declaring that his country is in charge of its own security and isn’t an American protectorate as he prepared to discuss progress on Gaza’s fragile ceasefire agreement with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks ahead of his meeting with Vance appeared aimed easing public concerns that the presence of an envisioned internati

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