standing solemnly on tarmac

Donald Trump lands in Israel, hails ‘rare opportunity’ for peace

Tel Aviv: President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday on the second stop of his first overseas trip, a journey that has quickly plunged him into the fraught and complex politics of the Middle East.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet, along with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, warmly welcomed Mr Trump on the tarmac, fresh from quarrels over how much Israel is prepared to compromise for peace and wary of the deals the US President struck over the weekend in a mass meeting with Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia.

Briefly addressing Israeli and US officials at an airport arrival ceremony, Mr Trump said his travels in the region have given him “new reasons for hope”.

“We have before us a rare opportunity to bring security and stability and peace to this region and to its people, defeating terrorism and creating a future of harmony, prosperity and peace,” Mr Trump said. “But we can only get there working together. There is no other way.”

Read the full article by Philip Rucker and Karen DeYoung at The Sydney Morning Herald.