WASHINGTON: US Vice President Mike Pence heads to the Middle East next weekend for talks with Israeli and Arab leaders on President Donald Trump’s decision to shift his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Mr Pence will visit Israel from Dec 17-19 as part of a regional trip that will also take him to the Palestinian Authority and Egypt.

In Israel, he will also address the Knesset, the first senior US official to do so since president George W. Bush in 2008, said an official Israeli announcement.

Vice President Pence, who strongly supports the decision, said at a dinner in Washington on Wednesday night that the move showed President Trump’s commitment to Israel.

“Under President Donald Trump if the world knows nothing else, the world knows this — America stands with Israel,” he said. “After decades of talk President Trump took action. He is a man of his word.”

While announcing the move from the White House, President Trump also said he would soon send Mr Pence to the Middle East for talks on the possible consequences of his decisions.

Soon after the announcement, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the State Department will immediately begin the process to implement this decision by starting the preparations for the move. The top US diplomat also dispelled the impr­ession that America did not consult its allies, particularly those in the Middle East, before taking this decision.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2017