President Donald Trump and Melania Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sarah, to the White House for talks, as both leaders discussed the historic U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
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Trump said he may travel to Israel for the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, which is scheduled to be completed by May
“We are looking at coming, if I can, I will. Israel is very special to me. Special, country, special people” Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu. “I’m looking forward to being there and I am very proud of that decision”
Trump touted that while other presidents had promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem, he did it.
“We will have it built very quickly and inexpensively, they put an order on my desk last week for a billion dollars. I said, we are not going to spend billion dollars. We are actually doing it for about 250,000 dollars, so check that out. 250,000 dollars versus one billion.
“Thank you. Mr. President, Donald, Melania. Sara and I want to thank you for your extraordinary friendship and hospitality. It’s always a pleasure to see you both,” Netanyahu said.
בהיערכות לקראת פגישתי החשובה היום עם נשיא ארה״ב דונלד טראמפ pic.twitter.com/snI6YpOt3t
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) March 5, 2018
Netanyahu: “Preparing for my important meeting today with US West President Donald Trump”
“This is the first time we meet Washington, America’s capital, after you declared, Mr. President, Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. And this was a historic proclamation, followed by your bold decision to move the embassy by our upcoming national Independence Day.
“I want to tell you that the Jewish people have a long memory, so we remember the proclamation of the great king, Cyrus the Great, a Persian king 2,500 years ago. He proclaimed that the Jewish exiles in Babylon could come back and rebuild our Temple in Jerusalem.
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“We remember a hundred years ago, Lord Balfour, who issued the Balfour Proclamation that recognized the rights of the Jewish people in our ancestral homeland.
“We remember 70 years ago, President Harry S. Truman was the first leader to recognize the Jewish state.
“And we remember how a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Mr. President, this will be remembered by our people through the ages. And as you just said, others just talked about it, you did it. So, I want to thank you on behalf of the people of Israel”
“I look forward to our discussions on both challenges and opportunities.”
Netanyahu and Trump also discussed the existential threat that Iran presents to both Israel and the US.
“If I had to say what is our greatest challenge in the Middle East to both our countries, to our Arab neighbors, it’s encapsulated in one word: Iran,” Netanyahu emphasized. “Iran has not given up its nuclear ambitions. It came out of this nuclear deal emboldened, enriched. It’s practicing aggression everywhere, including on our own borders.”
“I think we have to stop this country that chants, ‘Death to Israel, death to America.’ Iran must be stopped. That is our common challenge.”
