Israeli President Reuven Rivlin welcomed President Trump to Israel on Monday by saying he was glad to see America back in the neighborhood.
“Mr. President, we are happy to see that America is back in the area,” Rivlin said during a joint public statement with Trump. “America is back again.”
Israel hotly opposed former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear agreement, which Israel officials warned would pave the way for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. And while Trump ran into trouble last week after reports surfaced that he shared Israeli intelligence with Russian officials, Rivlin made it clear that Israel supported the goals Trump has been outlining during his Middle East trip, which most importantly includes eliminating the Islamic State.
“You marked the defeating of ISIS as one of your top missions,” Rivlin said. “This is [the] most important objective. Israel will do everything in its power in order to assist you in this mission.”
He said Israeli supported Trump’s order to bomb Syrian infrastructure after the use of chemical weapons.
“Israel appreciates America’s leadership and your administration in the action you took in Syria,” he said. “There are red lines, as it happened in Syria, that must never be crossed. There is a price that must be paid by those who violate the most basic values that makes us human.”
Rivlin gave a nod to the peace process by saying Israel would do its part to seek peace.
“Mr. President, the Jewish people return to the historic homeland after 2,000 years of exile,” Rivlin said. “We created a miracle, a technological miracle, an economic miracle, a human miracle, and even during our most difficult times, we never gave up on our dream of living here in peace with our neighbors. We reached a peace agreement with our neighbors in Jordan, and with our neighbors in Egypt, but we have not yet achieved our mission of living in peace with our neighbors, the Palestinians.”
Trump is meeting with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during the visit.
On Monday, Trump is also visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall.
