credit: wikipedia public domain / U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in Tel Aviv, on April 29, 2018.  

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under a dark cloud as he is target of police probes and a suspect in a criminal investigation three weeks before a tight election.  However, the Trump Administration is offering unwavering support for Netanyahu and his embattled government.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid a pre-election visit to Netanyahu in Israel Wednesday to reassure the Israeli PM  that President Trump has his back.

“You know that Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America. The Israeli people can have confidence that President Trump will maintain this close bond. I know that you and the President have an outstanding working relationship. He sent me here to build upon that and to represent him here. Israel has a special place in my heart as well. My very first trip as Secretary of State included a visit here. I’m proud to be here again not only as America’s top diplomat, but also as a man of faith that is always newly inspired when I get the chance to travel to Israel.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo statement at joint press conference Jerusalem Mar. 20, 2019

U.S. and Israel Vow To Roll Back Iranian Aggression 

An excellent meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The alliance between our two countries is stronger than ever. Israel and the United States are working in close coordination to roll back Iranian aggression in the region and around the world. pic.twitter.com/7lAOhhvSAb

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) March 20, 2019

 “We appreciate that, the fact that we have a broad base of support in the United States, but we also know that our alliance in recent years has never been stronger. It’s an unbreakable bond that’s based on shared values of liberty and democracy and shared interest to fight the enemies of democracy, the enemies of our way of life, the terrorists that plague – that prowl our airspace and prowl our countries.”

Israel PM Netanyahu 

“Rolling back Iran is in the interest of peace and security and stability for Israel, for our neighbors, and for the world,”  Netanyahu said. 

The  Israeli Prime Minister commended President Trump for his decision to walk away from “the disastrous nuclear deal” with Iran. “He said he would do it; he did. And he said that he would reimpose tough sanctions on Iran, and he did. And what we see is that this pressure is working. We need to increase it; we need to expand it. And together, the United States and Israel are working in close coordination to roll back Iranian aggression in the region and around the world.”

Netanyahu will  be visiting President Trump in Washington and having dinner at the White House next week, just before the April 9 election.

It is worth noting that,  In March of 2015, then-President Barack Obama refused to grant Netanyahu a pre-election visit, saying, “he needs to be far away enough from the election that it doesn’t look like in some ways we’re meddling or putting our thumbs on the scale.”

 Netenyahu Thanks President Trump For Moving  the American Embassy to Jerusalem. 

Credit: nbcnews.com /  U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin claps as Ivanka Trump unveils an inauguration plaque during the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.  Menahem Kahana / AFP – Getty Images.

The State of Palestine has instituted legal proceedings against the United States in the International Court Of Justice over Washington’s decision to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  Filed in the United Nations top court, Palestine alleged the US move is a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. On Dec. 6, 2017,  President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced the relocation of the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The American Embassy in Jerusalem was then inaugurated May 14, 2018. The move upended seven decades of US foreign policy that has resisted a recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.