US President Donald Trump has arrived in Israel for the second leg of his maiden foreign trip in search of Middle Eastern peace - a goal he has described as the “ultimate deal.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and dozens more members of the coalition government greeted Mr Trump in a short ceremony as Air Force One landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport at lunchtime on Monday.
The official US visit has been met with extensive security arrangements; more than 10,000 extra police and counter-terrorism officers have been deployed on the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for Mr Trump’s two-day stay.
The visiting president’s 1,000-person-strong entourage also includes a large security detail.
Some Palestinian factions called for a “day of rage’ to coincide with Mr Trump’s visit, condemning US support for the occupation of east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Pro-Palestinian supporters should send the message that “the Palestinian people insist on their right to self-determination and national independence with east Jerusalem as its sovereign capital,” the statement from the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces read.
The east of Jerusalem was annexed by Israel along with parts of the West Bank in 1967 in a move which was never officially recognised by the international community. Both sides in the Israeli-Arab conflict claim the holy city as their capital.
The entire US delegation is staying at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, where Mr Trump, his wife Melania, and Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu will have a private dinner on Monday evening.
The president’s suite has been fitted out with bullet-proof glass and other measures by US security services to make it bomb, blast and gas proof, NBC reported on Sunday, and his food will be tested for poison.
Mr Trump is also due to visit the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as well as meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem on Tuesday.
“We must work together to build a future where the nations of the region are at peace and all of our children can grow, grow up strong and free from terrorism and violence,” Mr Trump said on his arrival in Israel on Monday.
“During my travels in recent days, I have found new reasons for hope.”
The president flew to Tel Aviv after two days in Riyadh, where he and Saudi Arabian leaders pledged strong ties, greater cooperation in fighting “Islamist terrorism”, and finalised a $110 billion (£85 million) arms deal.
The next stops on his first trip abroad since taking office in January are the Vatican, Brussels, and a G7 summit in Italy.
