— Donald Trump has begun a visit to Israel by warning of the threat posed by Iran if it acquires nuclear weapons.
— President Trump goes to Western Wall as first sitting U.S. president to visit the Jewish holy site
— The two-day visit to Israel forms part of Mr Trump's first foreign trip as US president.
US President Donald Trump began a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank on Monday, wading into a generations-old Middle East standoff that will pose an early test of whether his business deal-making skills can translate to the high-wire world of international diplomacy. |
| President Trump visit the Western Wall |
Air Force One touched down around noon at Ben-Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, where the president and his family were greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. Mr. Trump had a day of symbolic visits ahead, before delving into the heart of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians in pursuit of what he has called “the ultimate deal.”
Trump was received by President Reuven Rivlin.
"Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon," he told reporters in Jerusalem, speaking beside Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
He flew in from Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, where he gave a speech to Arab and Muslim leaders at a summit.
Mr Trump will hold talks with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
He has called an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement "the ultimate deal" but has been vague about what form it should take, saying he prefers to leave it to both sides to decide between them in direct talks.
Mr. Trump arrived on what was believed to be the first open, direct flight to Israel from Saudi Arabia, which do not have diplomatic relations, and said he had “found new reasons for hope” for peace during his meetings with Muslim leaders in the Saudi capital of Riyadh over the weekend.
Trump wears a yarmulke during his visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. He is the first sitting U.S. president to visit the wall.
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| Trump wears a yarmulke during his visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. He is the first sitting U.S. president to visit the wall. |
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| Melania Trump in the women's section of the Western wall |