WASHINGTON: US Vice President Mike Pence heads to the Middle
East next weekend for talks with Israeli and Arab leaders on President
Donald Trump’s decision to shift his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem.
Mr Pence will visit Israel from Dec 17-19 as
part of a regional trip that will also take him to the Palestinian
Authority and Egypt.
In Israel, he will also address the
Knesset, the first senior US official to do so since president George W.
Bush in 2008, said an official Israeli announcement.
Vice
President Pence, who strongly supports the decision, said at a dinner
in Washington on Wednesday night that the move showed President Trump’s
commitment to Israel.
“Under President Donald Trump if
the world knows nothing else, the world knows this — America stands with
Israel,” he said. “After decades of talk President Trump took action.
He is a man of his word.”
While announcing the move from
the White House, President Trump also said he would soon send Mr Pence
to the Middle East for talks on the possible consequences of his
decisions.
Soon after the announcement, US Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson said the State Department will immediately begin the
process to implement this decision by starting the preparations for the
move. The top US diplomat also dispelled the impression that America
did not consult its allies, particularly those in the Middle East,
before taking this decision.
