US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo kicks off, this afternoon, his visit to the Western Wall alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
The visit marks the first time that Washington’s top diplomat visits Jerusalem’s contested Old City accompanied by a senior Israeli official, in what could be seen as a tacit recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish holy site, according to a report by Times of Israel.
Pompeo and Netanyahu are due to tour the Wall and the adjacent tunnels, which are located underneath the Old City’s Muslim Quarter. At a visitor’s center, the two men are expected to view a virtual reality recreation of the Jewish temple that once stood on the Temple Mount.
