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Trump expected to visit to Israel at time of 50th anniversary of reunification of Jerusalem

If President Trump visits Israel ahead of his May 25 trip to Belgium, it will be in time for the festivities surrounding the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.

By: Barney Breen-Portnoy, The Algemeiner and World Israel News

US President Donald Trump — joined by a number of other top officials in his administration — may visit the Jewish state as soon as next month.

According to reports, initial coordination talks regarding the trip have already begun and an American advance team is expected to arrive in Israel later this week.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, speaking to Army Radio Wednesday, confirmed that the preparations were at the advanced stage, although nothing has been finalized.

“There’s a feeling that we have a real friend in the White House,” Hotovely said.

Trump, who will mark his 100th day in office on Saturday, is set to make his first presidential trip abroad to attend a May 25 NATO summit in Belgium and a May 26-27 G7 summit in Italy.

According to the Hebrew news site nrg, a stop in Israel could be tacked on to the front end of that travel itinerary. The nrg report noted that May 23 is Jerusalem Day, when Israel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reunification of its capital city during the 1967 Six-Day War.

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A previous report published this past weekend in nrg said that Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley all plan to visit Israel in the coming months.

Former President Barack Obama did not travel to Israel during his first four years in the White House, but did make two trips there during his second term — an official three-day state visit in March 2013 and a one-day journey last September for the funeral of late Israeli statesman Shimon Peres.