Trump Wraps Mid East Trip, Lands In Rome
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - Wrapping up the second stop of his five country international swing since becoming Commander in Chief, President Donald Trump has landed in Rome for the next leg of his trip.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump exchanged pleasantries with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife before boarding Air Force One in Jerusalem.
After the first couple boarded by they were followed by daughter Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Before leaving, President Trump was briefed on the Manchester attack by his National Security Adviser and called British Prime Minister Theresa May to offer support. Throughout his stops in the Middle East, the President has made expanding counter-terrorism efforts a key theme.
Mr. Trump also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem. Abbas told the President that to achieve peace, Israel needs to recognize the State of Palestine and halt settlement construction on its territory.
So far, Netanyahu has continued to defy Mr. Trump's appeal to hold back. Still, the President is not ready to throw in the towel on a core campaign promise.
"I am committed to achieving a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians," said Trump.
Back in Israel, the President visited the Yad Vashem Memorial and laid a wreath at a site where ashes from Holocaust victims are buried.
Also on Monday, the sensitive issue of intelligence sharing was raised during a meeting with Netanyahu. The President has been criticized for revealing classified Israeli intelligence with two top Russian diplomats during a meeting in the Oval Office.
"I never mentioned the word or the name Israel. Never mentioned it during that conversation. They were all saying I did. So you had another story wrong," said Trump.
The President had never been accused of explicitly mentioning Israel, just inappropriately divulging information it had provided. The White House claims the President was unaware that Israel was the source.