As US appears furious over West Bank annexation bill, PM and Rubio make very brief, upbeat remarks in Jerusalem

In very brief statements to the press after meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Now we face days of doom.”

“We want to promote peace. We still have security challenges, but I believe we can work together… [για να] face the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities”Netanyahu says, characterizing the string of senior Trump officials visiting Israel last week as part of “a cycle of trust and cooperation” between Israel and the US.

“We have more work ahead of us, but we feel very positive about it. We’re making good progress,” Rubio said, referring to the Gaza ceasefire agreement signed earlier this month.

“No one is under any illusions. We have already done the impossible once and we intend to continue to do so,” the top US diplomat said.

Rubio noted that US President Donald Trump has made it a “top priority” to build a ceasefire in Gaza, as evidenced by the dispatch of his senior aides Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, followed by US Vice President Jay De Vance and now Secretary of State.

“It is a very significant achievement, but there is more work to be done and greater achievements lie ahead… We feel very positive and confident that we will succeed despite significant obstacles,” Rubio said, without elaborating.

The entire joint appearance lasted less than two minutes, and the “duo” he did not receive any questions.

Netanyahu is hosting Rubio amid growing U.S. anger over the Knesset’s push for legislation to annex parts of the West Bank while Vance was in the country and after Trump vowed last month not to allow Israel to make the controversial move. Vance made comments along those lines Thursday, calling the move “pretty stupid” and saying he was personally offended that the bill was advanced during his visit.

Time magazine on Thursday published a recent interview with Trump, in which he warned that Israel would lose all US support if it annexed the West Bank and insisted that would not happen, adding that he had “given his word to the Arab countries.”