U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off his first official trip to Israel on Monday with a warm welcoming ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport, where he was greeted by Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin.
After flying directly from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the president spent the first two days of his nine-day foreign trip, Trump descended from Air Force One to a tarmac lined by Israeli ministers, dignitaries, and security establishment officials.
Calling Trump’s visit “truly historic,” Netanyahu noted that “never before has the first foreign trip of a president of the United States included a visit to Israel.”
“Thank you for this powerful expression of your friendship to Israel,” he said.
Netanyahu referenced Trump’s “forceful speech” in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, in which the American president “called on all nations to drive out terrorists and extremists.”
“For 69 years Israel has been doing precisely that,” Netanyahu said. “We’ve manned the front lines of civilization. We’ve fought terrorism and we’ve built a modern vibrant, democratic Jewish state.”
The prime minister noted that in doing so, Israel has protected all faiths. “Muslims, Christians, everyone,” he said. “Throughout the Middle East Christian communities are decimated, minorities persecuted. But here in Israel we’re proud to have a growing and thriving Christian community. And we guarantee the rights of all.”
Netanyahu also affirmed that Israel shares “the commitment to peace that you expressed yesterday.”
We’ve already made peace with Egypt and with Jordan. And Israel’s hand is extended to peace, in peace, to all our neighbors including the Palestinians. The peace we seek is a genuine and durable one in which the Jewish state is recognized, security remains in Israel’s hands and the conflict ends once and for all.
“Mr. President, you just flew from Riyadh to Tel Aviv. I hope that one day an Israeli Prime Minister will be able to fly from Tel Aviv to Riyadh,” Netanyahu added.
He expressed his hope that Trump’s visit will “prove to be a historic milestone on the path towards reconciliation and peace,” and his confidence that in the years ahead, “the remarkable alliance between Israel and the United States will become ever greater, ever stronger.”
In turn, Trump said it is “wonderful to be here in Israel” and “to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between the United States and the state of Israel.”
“In this land so rich in history, Israel has built one of the world’s great civilizations,” the American president observed. “A strong resilient determined and prosperous nation. It is also a nation forged in the commitment that we will never allow the horrors and atrocities, of the last century to be repeated.”
“Now we must work together to build a future where the nations of the region are at peace and all of our children can grow, and grow up strong and grow up free from terrorism and violence,” Trump added. “I look forward to working closely with both of you during my stay.”
“We love Israel,” the president stressed. “We respect Israel. And I send your people the warmest greetings from your friend and ally, all of the people in the United States of America. We are with you.”
[Photo: Prime Minister’s Office ]