World
Donald Trump postpones visit to Israel until 'after I become President of the US'
December 9, 2015 13:35
Donald Trump has announced he is going to postpone his trip to Israel, following calls to ban him from visiting the country altogether.
Mr Trump said he had decided to postpone a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until after he “becomes president”
He Tweeted: “I have decided to postpone my trip to Israel and to schedule my meeting with Netanyahu at a later date after I become President of the U.S.”
I have decided to postpone my trip to Israel and to schedule my meeting with @Netanyahu at a later date after I become President of the U.S.
Earlier in the week, Mr Trump announced he was planning on visiting the Temple Mount when he went to Israel.
According to reports, Mr Trump’s office are looking into the possibility of visiting the religious spot in Jerusalem, which is an area of massive contention between Jews and Muslims in Israel. Both religious groups view it as one of their holiest sites, and in recent months it has been the site of a slew of attacks.
This development follows Mr Trump’s recent controversial statement that, if elected as President, he plans to prohibit Muslims from entering the United States.
Mr Trump said in a statement that he sought “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”.
His words caused universal outrage and led to calls for the millionaire property mogul to drop his presidential bid.
In Israel, politicians spoke out against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to uphold his scheduled meeting with Mr Trump on 28 December.
MK Omer Bar-Lev tweeted: “As far as it depends on me, this racist Donald Trump should not be welcome in the Knesset.”
MK Ahmad Tibi, an Arab Israeli politician, also protested against his upcoming visit, tweeting: “I asked Yudi Edelstein [Knesset Speaker] to ban neo-Nazi Trump and all Trumps from entering the Knesset, though his statements are not strange to some racists in the Knesset.”
Mr Netanyahu’s office wrote on Twitter: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Donald Trump's recent remarks about Muslims."
But a spokesperson insisted his scheduled meeting with Mr Trump would still take place, saying: "The Prime Minister decided earlier this year on a uniform policy to agree to meet with all presidential candidates from either party who visit Israel and ask for a meeting.
"This policy does not represent an endorsement of any candidate or his or her views."
