TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Vice President JD Vance sought Wednesday to ease concerns in Israel that the Trump administration was dictating terms to its closest ally in the Middle East, as he and other top U.S. envoys visit Israel this week to support the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

“We don’t want in Israel a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is. We want a partnership, we want an ally,” Vance said beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in response to a reporter’s question about whether Israel was becoming a “protectorate” of the U.S.

Netanyahu — who will meet with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday — expressed similar sentiments while acknowledging differences of opinion as they push forward the U.S.-proposed ceasefire agreement.

“One week they say that Israel co

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