Pence finally will travel to Middle East this month

WASHINGTON— Vi c e President Mike Pence will travel to Egypt, Jordan and Israel this month after postponing a trip to the Middle East in December following President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the White House announced Monday.

Pence’s trip to the Middle East will insert him into a debate over the role of the U.S. in any future peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and follows Trump’s apparent threats to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority. The president last week questioned why the U.S. should make “any of these massive future payments” when the Palestinians are “no longer willing to talk peace.”

The White House said Pence will travel to the region Jan. 19-23, starting with a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Pence will also confer with King Abdullah II of Jordan and then hold two days of meetings and events in Israel.

Pence’s agenda in Israel includes meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, an address to the Knesset and visits to the Western Wall and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. The White House said Pence will address the need to combat terrorism and help persecuted religious minorities.

Trump, along with United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, have been questioning future aid to the Palestinians as part of the fallout of Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem and using the aid as leverage until the Palestinians show a willingness to come back to the negotiation table.

Pence postponed his visit to Israel and Egypt in mid-December because of a Senate vote on Trump’s tax overhaul.