{"id":9975,"date":"2026-10-20T00:27:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=9975"},"modified":"2026-10-20T00:27:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:27:59","slug":"hegseth-meets-netanyahu-in-unannounced-israel-visit-benjamin-netanyahu-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=9975","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth meets Netanyahu in unannounced Israel visit | Benjamin Netanyahu News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hegseth has travelled to Israel to meet Netanyahu ahead of a closely contested election, Axios reported, citing sources.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 20 Oct 2026<\/span>20 Oct 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has\u00a0met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an undisclosed visit to Israel, according to Axios.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

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The Reuters news agency could not immediately confirm the visit. The Pentagon and Israel\u2019s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and there was no immediate indication of what they discussed.<\/p>\n

Trump endorsement<\/h2>\n

President Trump took<\/a> to his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday to endorse<\/a>\u00a0Netanyahu in next week\u2019s parliamentary election, the first vote since the Hamas-led<\/a> October 7 attacks in 2023 and Israel\u2019s genocidal<\/a> campaign in Gaza began.<\/p>\n

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US President Donald Trump (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands [File: AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trump praised the prime minister for being an ally of the US in its war on Iran. He added that Netanyahu had his \u201cComplete and Total Endorsement\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s religious-nationalist coalition is projected to lose its governing majority, although the opposition<\/a> may also struggle to form a government, opinion polls suggest.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI endorse American candidates, and that\u2019s where I\u2019m focused on is the midterms,\u201d Vance, who travelled to Budapest and endorsed<\/a> Viktor Orban in Hungarian elections earlier this year, said in an interview with digital media outlet 2WAY.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not anti-endorsing him, but I\u2019m not pro-endorsing him; I\u2019m not getting involved in Israeli elections,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Hegseth has travelled to Israel to meet Netanyahu ahead of a closely contested election, Axios reported, citing sources. Published On 20 Oct 202620 Oct 2026 US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has\u00a0met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an undisclosed visit to Israel, according to Axios. The meeting between the hawkish ally of US President…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t