BICOM

A White House team will arrive in Israel today to begin advanced planning for a US Presidential visit in May.

Donald Trump’s team will work with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister’s Office to organise a schedule and finalise security arrangements. The exact date of the visit is not yet confirmed but it could be scheduled for 23rd May to coincide with Jerusalem Day when Israel will celebrate 50 years since the reunification of the city. This would allow President Trump to attend a NATO summit being held on 25 May in Brussels.

The visit could be defined as a state visit and hosted by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin or a work visit hosted by Prime Minister Netanyahu. In either scenario President Trump will meet with both leaders to discuss the regional diplomatic initiative that he hopes to advance.

Trump’s visit is expected to be very short, possibly only one night, and is not been decided whether he will also visit the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is travelling to Washington on 3 May to meet the President at the White House and the success of that meeting could determine whether a follow up is arranged for Trump’s Israel visit.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley are also planning to visit Israel in the weeks ahead. Haley, whose strong criticism of the UN’s anti-Israel bias has won her huge popularity in Jerusalem, is due to visit in June. No date has been set for Tillerson’s visit.

The new US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, will start his posting on 15 May.