Trump visits Jerusalem in bid to find paths to Israeli-Palestinian peace

Trump visits Jerusalem in bid to find paths to Israeli-Palestinian peace

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Donald Trump visits Jerusalem Monday, May 22 to seek ways to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, a goal that has eluded his predecessors but which he says could be easier than "people have thought", AFP reports.

Trump's visit is part of his first trip abroad as president and follows an initial stop in Saudi Arabia, where he urged Islamic leaders to take a stand against violence committed in the name of religion.

It also comes as he contends with a raft of problems back home, including a special counsel investigating whether his associates colluded with Russia.

Trump is due in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon and, ahead of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will tour two iconic sites in Jerusalem, a city holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews.

His first stop will be the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built at the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

Afterwards, he is expected to become the first sitting US president to visit the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray and located in east Jerusalem.

The Western Wall visit drew controversy before Trump even left Washington, when US officials declined to say whether it belonged to Israel.

"Jerusalem was and will always be the capital of Israel," Netanyahu said late Sunday. "The Temple Mount and the Western Wall will always remain under Israeli sovereignty."

Israel occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967 in moves never recognised by the international community.

It later annexed east Jerusalem and claims the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

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