Trump visits Jerusalem in bid to find paths to Israeli-Palestinian peaceMay 22, 2017 - 09:08 AMT 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. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |