Separately, a reported comment by a United States official helping prepare Trump's visit also led to Israeli criticism, with the official allegedly telling Israeli counterparts that the Western Wall was part of the occupied West Bank.
Top officials at the State Department, Department of Defense and the USA intelligence community are urging the White House not to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, warning that such a decision would be harmful to the peace process and carry broader regional risks, a senior administration official and several U.S. officials told CNN.
Israel's Channel 2 reported Monday that the US delegation rejected Israeli requests that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an Israeli TV crew accompany President Donald Trump on his visit to the Western Wall. The report said the Americans rebuffed the request, with one official telling the Israelis the site is "not your territory". "It's part of the West Bank", Channel 2 reports.
But Trump has since backed away from the embassy move, saying it was still being looked at, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced political backlash at home over the issue.
The new US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, departed from diplomatic protocol by visiting the Western Wall on Monday.The visit, a week before Trump's first foreign trip, coincided with a debate between the two countries on Trump's election pledge to move the USA embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.It is highly unusual for a new envoy to visit the holy site just hours after arriving in Israel.Friedman is an orthodox Jew who has raised funds for a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank that Israel captured together with East Jerusalem 50 years ago.
"From the lunch meeting at the White House: 'The PM was asked about the embassy and explained [that moving it] would not lead to bloodshed in the region, as some were trying to intimidate [President Trump] into believing'".
Israel angrily demanded an explanation from the White House, casting a cloud over the highly anticipated visit by the new president, which is being greeted with a mixture of excitement and nervousness by Israeli officials.
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Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 and claims the entire city as its undivided capital.
McMaster did not rule out that Trump might bring Netanyahu and Abbas together during the visit. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
"We are convinced that this remark is in contradiction to the policy of President Trump", the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
The Temple Mount and the Western Wall. "I prayed for the president, I wished him success especially on his upcoming trip".
The trip will also be colored by questions over the status of the US Embassy in Israel, which Trump promised to move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during his campaign. Among the main bones of contention are Netanyahu insisting that the Palestinians recognise Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people and the Palestinians calling for a halt to Israeli settlement building in the West Bank.
Bennett said he was not sure why Trump has changed his rhetoric.
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