US President has left the building
President Rivlin and Prime Minister Netanyahu parted from the US president at an official ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport after his two-day visit to Israel; The Trumps are now heading to Rome.
After Donald Trump's speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, a few sections of Highway 1 and Highway 6 were blocked for a short while before the departure of the American President from Ben-Gurion Airport. Upon Trump's arrival at the airport, the roads were opened to traffic in both directions, as well as the other roads blocked in the urban and interurban areas.
Rounding out a 28-hour stay in Jerusalem, Trump praised Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas alike, saying both were ready for peace. But he avoided any mention of a Palestinian state and did not address a campaign promise to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something Netanyahu yearns for.
"I had a meeting this morning with President Abbas and can tell you that the Palestinians are ready to reach for peace," Trump said in a speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
"In my meeting with my very good friend Benjamin, I can tell you also that he is reaching for peace. He wants peace," he said. "Making peace, however, will not be easy. We all know that. Both sides will face tough decisions. But with determination, compromise, and the belief that peace is possible, Israelis and Palestinians can make a deal."
His speech at the Israel Museum touched on the Jewish connection to the Holy Land, earning applause from the audience, which included Sheldon Adelson, a US billionaire and active political supporter of both Netanyahu and Trump.
The address followed a visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial, where Trump and his wife Melania laid a wreath and the president spoke about the horrors of Nazi Germany's annihilation of six million Jews.
"The ties of the Jewish people to this Holy Land are ancient and eternal," Trump said at the Israel Museum. "They date back thousands of years, including the reign of King David, whose star now flies proudly on Israel's white and blue flag."
"This city, like no other place in the world, reveals the longing of the human heart to know and worship God," said Trump.
