Trump doesn’t rule out visiting Western Wall with Netanyahu

President Trump said he is not ruling out visiting Jerusalem’s Western Wall alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israel Hayom.

“While a final decision has not been made, we have great respect and friendship for Netanyahu. Going with the rabbi is more traditional, but that could change,” the president said in the interview published Sunday.

The Western Wall is Judaism’s most sacred prayer site. The president’s nine-day trip abroad is aimed at visiting the major landmarks in the world’s three major Abrahamic religions.

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Trump’s response fails to clarify remarks recently made by a U.S. diplomat preparing for Trump’s Israel visit. The official reportedly referred to the Western Wall as part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank rather than part of the state of Israel, according to Reuters. 

“The Temple Mount and the Western Wall will always remain under Israeli sovereignty,” Netanyahu said Sunday before Trump’s visit, a reminder of Israel’s position.

The White House denied that the statement reflected the president’s position. However, the confusion only adds to the tensions around Trump’s trip, which comes a week after he walked back a campaign promise to quickly move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

“I say to the whole world and in the clearest way possible, Jerusalem was and will always be the capital of Israel,” Israel’s prime minister reiterated at festivities marking the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War. 

Trump maintained after meeting with Netanyahu and other Middle Eastern leaders during the first few months of his presidency that he believes a regional peace agreement could be reached in the near future.

“I think there is a very great possibility that we can make a deal,” he told Israel Hayom. He also said his administration has some “very interesting things in the works” on Israel.

The president’s comments come one day before he arrives in Israel after visiting Saudi Arabia. Trump received a warm welcome in Saudi Arabia. However, tensions could be rising with Israel. 

A report in the New York Times claims Trump revealed a sensitive Israeli source of information to Russian officials in a May 10 Oval Office meeting. 

Israeli officials are said to be “boiling mad and demanding answers” after Trump’s slip, according to BuzzFeed.

Netanyahu maintained a cool diplomatic relationship with former President Obama, but the Trump administration says the visit to Israel will strengthen the U.S.-Israeli relationship.

“I love the people of Israel, I am working very hard to finally have peace for the people of Israel and the Palestinians and hopefully that can come about much sooner than anybody has ever projected,” Trump said in the interview Sunday. “It is a tremendous possibility. It is good for all. This is a deal that is good for all. And I would consider it one of my crowning achievements if I can do it. We have the right people on it, too.”

Trump is also scheduled to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Tuesday.