With President Trump's visit already riling several other members of Israel's far-right government related to whether the Western Wall, which Israel captured militarily in 1967, is occupied, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked found a new reason to be outraged, the map of Israel that the White House has been circulating ahead of Trump's trip.
Israel reacted with outrage, arguing it could not be the president's position that Netanyahu not visit a site considered one of Judaism's most sacred places. "The citizens of Israel will receive you with open arms", Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. "We will strengthen security ties, which are strengthening daily, and we will also discuss ways to advance peace", he said.
On the eve of President Trump's first overseas trip, an unfortunate dispute has emerged over the question, "whose wall is it?"
In the afternoon, Trump will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial before traveling to the Israel Museum to deliver his main address, which will "celebrate the unique history of Israel and of the Jewish people", according to the White House website.
In February, Trump issued mild criticism of Israel's continued building of settlements in the West Bank, saying new construction doesn't help the peace process. The immediate statement from the White House said that locating the Western Wall in the West Bank is not Trump's position, and David Friedman went straight to the Western Wall upon landing in Israel to assume his position as ambassador, which would be a odd thing to do if his view was that it is not sovereign Israeli territory. For starters, it demonstrates that someone in the administration understood Obama's mistake in making a decision that Israelis took as a deliberate snub and was trying to avoid a similar error. "He was also very direct with President Abbas regarding incitement and the paying of stipends to the families of terrorists".
Palestinians, who viewed Trump's victory with some trepidation, are said to have been pleasantly surprised by Trump's openness during a recent meeting with Abbas in Washington.
After arriving at Ben-Gurion, Trump is flying to Jerusalem, where he will meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and dine with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife.
Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet slammed US ignorance and vowed to ensure Palestinians never get a state.
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A majority of voters agreed it was "inappropriate" for President Donald Trump to share highly sensitive classified information with Russian diplomats during a White House meeting, a poll released Friday shows. However, the statute includes an option for its mandate to be waived by the President for six months, if "necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States". Erekat remains the chief Palestinian negotiator while Livni is a leading opposition member of Israel's parliament.
"I think that there is a great opportunity to reach a deal [between Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas]", the president said.
Top Story Israel and Palestine - Hopes for a lasting peace in the region?
"Not that the nuclear agreement is a good deal", added Bar-Lev.
Trump refused to say whether the U.S. would seek to impose a construction freeze in West Bank settlements.
Trump advocated during his campaign breaking with decades of precedent and moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a prospect deeply alarming to Palestinians.
McMaster last week said the administration supports Palestinian "self-determination", a reference interpreted by many as endorsing independence. "We'll speak about [the embassy] later".
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