U.S. President Donald Trump has officially announced he will visit Israel as part of his first foreign trip since his inauguration in January. "Tolerance is the cornerstone of peace. And that is why I am proud to make a major and historic announcement this morning, and to share with you that my first foreign trip as president of the United States will be to Saudi Arabia, then Israel, and then to a place that my cardinals love very much, Rome," Trump said in the Rose Garden outside the White House on Thursday. Trump cast his trip as an effort to build cooperation and support between Muslims, Christians and Jews for fighting terrorism. "Our task is not to dictate to others how to live but to build a coalition of friends and partners who share the goal of fighting terrorism and bringing safety, opportunity and stability to the war-ravaged Middle East," he said. Trump will arrive in Israel on May 22 and will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin, among others. In response to the announcement, Netanyahu said he was looking forward "to discussing with President Trump the best ways to advance peace." U.S. press secretary Sean Spicer issued a statement saying, "The leaders will discuss a range of regional issues, including the need to counter the threats posed by Iran and its proxies, and by ISIS [Islamic State] and other terrorist groups. They will also discuss ways to advance a genuine and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians." Officials said Trump would meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, but declined to say where, and said dates and other details would be provided later. "We'll approach it, I think, with a lot of humility," a senior administration official told reporters of plans to restart the negotiation process during a preview of the meeting. Last week, a U.S. delegation arrived in Israel to prepare for the visit. Trump adviser David Friedman will take on the role of U.S. ambassador to Israel on May 15, and is set to accompany Trump on his visit to the region. Trump's visit will come ahead of Israel's Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 24. A presidential waiver suspending the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem is set to expire on June 1. Trump must decide by then whether to fulfill his campaign promise to relocate the embassy, thereby officially recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, or follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and renew the waiver. Trump's Israel visit will be accompanied by massive security operations to ensure his and his entourage's safety in Israel. Maiden foreign trips of U.S. presidents often take on broader symbolic import, and by choosing the Middle East as his first stop, Trump will highlight his lofty promises to eradicate Islamic State insurgents and foster peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, had a testy relationship with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, whose leaders viewed him as being concerned less with traditional alliances than with negotiating a diplomatic agreement with Iran, which both Israel and Saudi Arabia view as an enemy. Trump's foreign visit appears to be aimed at reinvigorating traditional alliances in the region. It remains unclear whether during his visit to the region Trump will push forward a diplomatic initiative or move to relocate the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump is set to take off from Washington on May 19 and will first visit Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Trump's visit would send a clear message that the U.S. harbors no ill will toward Muslim countries, which he said was a misconception spread by Iran and extremists such as the Islamic State group. "This historic summit is going to change the narrative in the Islamic world and in the world," he told reporters in Washington. In an interview with Reuters last week, Trump said Saudi Arabia was not treating the United States fairly and that Washington was losing a "tremendous amount of money" defending the kingdom. From Riyadh, Trump will continue to Israel and then to the Vatican, where he will met with the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis. The announcement follows Trump's meeting on Wednesday with Abbas and his optimistic pledge to mediate peace efforts between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Trump has sought to forge strong ties with Netanyahu at the start of his presidency in the hope of facilitating peace. The visit to Israel will reinforce that alliance, officials said. Trump said that after visiting the Vatican, he would attend a NATO meeting in Brussels on May 25 and the G7 summit in Sicily on May 26.
