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Pence Moves Visit Date a 2nd Time, Hoping to Be Hosted in Bethlehem

Mike Pence speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Mike Pence speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Pence Moves Visit Date a 2nd Time, Hoping to Be Hosted in Bethlehem

Mike Pence speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Mike Pence speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, US July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Israeli political sources blamed US Vice President Mike Pence’s decision to postpone his scheduled visit to the Middle East, which starts in Egypt and ends in Israel, mid-this month, mainly to Palestinians refusing to host him and rejecting US mediation in negotiations to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Palestinians took a definitive stance against US mediation following the United States showing bias and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

These sources said that Pence shifting the visit’s time for the second time in the past two weeks confirms that the Americans still hope "the Palestinians change their position and receive him in Bethlehem, with the aim towards resolving the differences arising from the promise US President Trump made and to examine the possibility of resuming negotiations."

Initially, the visit was scheduled for December 20, and was postponed until further notice.

The White House then announced that the postponement is so that Pence could stay in Washington until the vote on the "tax cuts" bill was finished.

Later on, the White House confirmed that the visit would take place on January 14, however the list of officials expected to arrive in the country this month in Tel Aviv, did not include Pence.

Israeli authorities said "Pence's visit to Israel, which was scheduled for mid-January, did not show up on the list of foreign officials visiting Israel during this month due to a number of difficulties regarding the overall agenda”.

Although the White House made it clear that the vice president plans to arrive in Israel at the end of this month, Israeli sources have questioned it actually taking place, asserting that PM Benjamin Netanyahu plans to visit India, Munich and Davos by the end of January.

Pence’s visit will be the first of a senior US official to Israel since Trump announced on December 6 Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

If received by the Palestinians, it will be the first public meetings between them and US officials after the announcement.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.