Marco Rubio at the Western Wall
Jerusalem, Sep 14 (EFE).-
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday after visiting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Western Wall in Jerusalem that the relationship between the two countries “has never been stronger.”
“Under President Trump, and Secretary Rubio, this alliance has never been stronger, and we deeply appreciate it,” said the Israeli prime minister as they visited the subway tunnels of the Western Wall, accompanied by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and their respective wives.
Earlier, the three prayed together at the Western Wall, the holiest place in Judaism, after which they put their respective notes between the stones of the wall, following the Jewish tradition whereby prayers, wishes, and dreams are written down there.
Netanyahu and Rubio prayed in the area of the Wall reserved for men, near which there was a point enabled for the press to follow and cover the visit. Women journalists, however, did not have access to this point, EFE reported.
The visit by Rubio, who landed in Israel on Sunday, comes five days after Israel attempted to kill senior Hamas officials based in Qatar while they were studying the latest US ceasefire proposal, an attack that upset President Donald Trump.
Qatar is a US ally and one of the main mediators in negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza.
However, Rubio did not make a statement or respond to media questions during his visit to the Wall.
“I think his [Rubio’s] visit here is a testament to the durability, the strength of the Israeli-American alliance. It’s as strong and as durable as the stones of the Western Wall we just touched,” Netanyahu said.
Aside from an expected meeting with Netanyahu, further details of Rubio’s official agenda are unknown.
Coinciding with Rubio’s visit, a tribute to conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was murdered on Wednesday at a university event in Utah (USA), will be held on Sunday in Jerusalem and will be attended by the Israeli Minister of Diaspora and Combating Anti-Semitism, Amichai Chikli.
In addition, on Monday, a delegation of 250 state legislators from the United States will visit Israel and will be received by Netanyahu at the Foreign Ministry, after which they will attend an event in the Knesset (Parliament) in Jerusalem. EFE ngg-mgs/mcd
