Donald Trump's advisers plan to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the president-elect’s inauguration or arrange a meeting between the two before he takes office later this month, according to people close to the transition.
“There’s a plan for Trump to meet with Netanyahu,” a source told The Associated Press on Saturday. “They’re talking all the time. And Netanyahu is talking about possibly going to the inauguration.”
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that the Trump transition team, led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, contacted Netanyahu on Sunday to invite him to the ceremony which will be held on January 20.
"There’s a plan for Trump to meet with Netanyahu. They’re talking all the time. And Netanyahu is talking about possibly going to the inauguration," a source close to Trump said.
The Israeli prime minister congratulated Trump after he defeated his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the November 8 election.
The report of an invitation comes amid renewed tensions between the US and Israel over a UN vote condemning the Israeli settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The UN Security Council voted 14-0 last week to pass Resolution 2334, which demanded an immediate end to Israel’s “illegal” settlement activities.
The US decided to abstain - and not veto - the resolution, allowing it to be adopted. The move angered Netanyahu who accused President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry of being behind the “shameful” act.
In a speech on Thursday, Kerry defended the decision, saying Israel’s policies put the two-state solution “in serious jeopardy.”
Trump said on Saturday, "We have to protect Israel. Israel, to me, is very, very important. We have to protect Israel." Commenting on Kerry’s remarks, he said, “I disagree with what he has done with Israel.”
The president-elect has already vowed to change course after he takes office.
"We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the US, but not anymore," Trump said in a series of tweets. "Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!"
Over half a million Israelis live in more than 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem al-Quds.
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