Pence visits ‘inspiring’ Western Wall
US VICE President Mike Pence visited Jerusalem’s Western Wall yesterday while Palestinians planned a general strike and protests after denouncing his fervently proIsrael speech the previous day as “messianic”.
The devout Christian’s speech to the Israeli parliament on Monday laden with biblical references was praised by Israelis as perhaps the best they could ever hope for from a US administration, but Palestinians saw it as confirming some of their worst fears. Pence proudly reaffirmed US President Donald Trump’s December 6 declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and pledged to move the embassy to the disputed city by the end of 2019.
The vice president said “the friendship between our peoples has never been deeper. And I am here to convey a simple message from the heart of the American people: America stands with Israel.”
Pence, whose trip is being boycotted by the Palestinians, yesterday visited one of the holiest sites in Judaism, the Western Wall. The vice president, wear- ing a black skullcap, inserted a piece of paper inside a crack in the ancient wall’s stones in accordance with the tradition of leaving a prayer.
He then placed his right hand on the wall before stepping backwards and gazing at the site for a few moments and signing the guest book.
“It is my great honour to pray here at this sacred place. God bless the Jewish people and God bless the state of Israel always,” he wrote.
“Very inspiring,” Pence said after leaving.
The Western Wall is among the last remnants of the second Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
It lies in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.
Many Israelis are likely to interpret the Western Wall visit as Pence further backing their claim over the entire city.
He also met Israeli President Reuven Rivlin yesterday morning, saying the White House believes the Jerusalem declaration “will set the table for the opportunity to move forward in meaningful negotiations to achieve a lasting peace and end the decades-long conflict”.
Rivlin responded by saying “inshallah” – or God willing in Arabic – after earlier calling Pence a “mensch”, the Yiddish word frequently used by Jews to describe an honourable person.
‘Gift to extremists’
The Palestinians face a dilemma in how to deal with what they see as a blatantly biased US administration as they seek to salvage hope of a two- state solution. A top Palestinian official called Pence’s parliament speech “messianic” and a “gift to extremists”, and reiterated their view that the Trump White House is incapable of being an even-handed mediator in peace talks.
Yesterday, a general strike was being observed in the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian leadership has sought to look elsewhere for backing, and President Mahmud Abbas met European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. The 82year-old urged them to recognise a Palestinian state, but such a move was not forthcoming from the bloc as a whole.
Abbas said he was committed to negotiations, but he has sought an internationally led process.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, bolstered by the unstinting support of the Trump adminstration, says there is no substitute for US leadership. He has warmly welcomed Pence, calling him a “dear friend” and lauding Trump’s Jerusalem declaration.
Deadly unrest
The US move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital broke with decades of international consensus that the city’s status should be settled as part of a two-state peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
Unrest since the announcement has left 18 Palestinians dead, most of them killed in clashes with Israeli forces. One Israeli has been killed.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.
Israelis and Palestinians alike interpreted Trump’s move as Washington taking Israel’s side in the conflict – a view reinforced by the White House’s recent decision to withhold financing for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
In Jerusalem, Pence reiterated Trump’s position that the United States will support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “if both sides agree”.