Rubio scheduled the solidarity visit a week before a French-led summit at the UN to recognise a Palestinian state, a prospect fervently opposed by Netanyahu’s right-wing government.
However, President Donald Trump’s administration was caught off guard last week when Israel carried out an attack in Qatar, home to the region’s largest US air base, against Hamas leaders who were meeting to discuss a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza.
“Obviously we’re not happy about it. The president was not happy about it.
“Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next,” Rubio told reporters on departure when asked about the strike.
Rubio said he would speak to Netanyahu about Israeli military plans to seize Gaza City, the largest urban centre in the devastated territory, as well as the government’s talk of annexing parts of the West Bank in hopes of precluding a Palestinian state.
Rubio said that Trump wants the Gaza war to be “finished with” – which would mean the release of hostages seized in the Oct 7, 2023 attack and ensuring Hamas is “no longer a threat”.
“Part of what we’re going to have to discuss as part of this visit is how the events of last week with Qatar impact that,” Rubio said.
‘Eternal capital’
The US has not joined European powers in pressing Israel to end the offensive, who fear it will aggravate the already severe humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Rubio already saw Netanyahu yesterday when they prayed together at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray.
Rubio, a devout Catholic, later posted that his visit showed his belief that Jerusalem is the “eternal capital” of Israel.
Until Trump’s first term, US leaders had shied away from such overt statements backing Israeli sovereignty over contested Jerusalem, which is also holy to Muslims and Christians.
Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem and has repeatedly offered strong backing to Israel, even when it takes actions he opposes such as the strikes on Qatar.
Netanyahu said after joining Rubio on a tour of excavated sites under the Western Wall that Israel’s alliance with the US has “never been stronger”.
Today, Rubio is expected to attend the inauguration of a pilgrim’s tunnel that leads to the holy area.
He played down the political implications, calling it “one of the most important archaeological sites in the world,” but Palestinian and peace groups say it again gives legitimacy to claims by Israel, which annexed East Jerusalem after seizing it in 1967.