(MENAFN- Daily News Egypt) US President Donald Trump on Monday said he might travel to Israel to attend the opening ceremony of his country€™s new embassy in Jerusalem.
Trump made the statement during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office.
In December, Trump reversed decades of US policy to recognise Jerusalem as Israel€™s capital. Netanyahu termed the decision €œhistoric€ during his meeting with the US president on Monday.
€œWe€™re looking at coming,€ Trump said. €œIf I can, I will.€
Netanyahu heralded Trump€™s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.
€œThis will be remembered by our people through the ages,€ Netanyahu said during brief remarks.
Trump€™s push to modify or scrap Iran€™s 2015 nuclear deal and concerns over Tehran€™s growing foothold in Syria featured prominently during the talks.
€œIf I had to say what is our greatest challenge in the Middle East to both our countries, to our Arab neighbours, it€™s encapsulated in one word: Iran,€ Netanyahu said. €œIran must be stopped. That is our common challenge.€
Netanyahu is in Washington for the annual conference of American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful pro-Israel lobby, and is due to speak at the conference later in the week.
Top-ranking US officials including Vice President Mike Pence and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley will also address the conference.
The meeting also provides a chance for Netanyahu to steer away from corruption investigations in Israel and towards his biggest foreign policy priority, combatting Iran.
Trump€™s controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel€™s capital has outraged Palestinians, who see Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
Trump€™s long-awaited peace plan is yet to be completed and even so, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an end to the United States€™ usual role as mediator between Israel and Palestine.
€œIt has become impossible today for one country or state alone to solve a regional or international conflict,€ Abbas said in February at a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East. €œIt is essential to establish a multilateral international mechanism emanating from an international conference.€
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