President Donald Trump’s UN envoy Nikki Haley on Tuesday told CBN News that the Western Wall is part of Israel, contrary to a reported statement from other Administration officials.
Noting that she didn’t know what the administration’s official policy was, Haley offered her own opinion in an interview with The Brody File on CBN News, saying, “I believe the Western Wall is part of Israel, and I think that that’s how we’ve always seen it and that’s how we should pursue it.”
A Trump Administration official recently angered Prime Minister Netanyahu’s representatives by telling them the Kotel is part of the “occupied West Bank,” openly disregarding both the Israeli annexation 50 years ago and the US position on eastern Jerusalem being a disputed territory. The clash erupted over preparations for President Trump’s visit to the Kotel, which Netanyahu had asked to join.
The debate over whether the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site erupted this week, ahead of President Trump’s upcoming visit to Israel.
Trump’s Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday said the Kotel was “clearly in Jerusalem,” but failed to state that Jerusalem was part of Israel. But he did correct the record on the Administration stance regarding the supporting wall of the Temple Mount, erected by King Herod around the year zero: “The Western Wall is obviously one of the holiest sites in the Jewish faith,” Spicer said. “It’s clearly in Jerusalem, but there’s been—it’s an issue that has had serious consideration. It’ll be a topic that’s going to be discussed during the president’s trip between parties that he meets with, but obviously, I think, this stems from a comment that was made yesterday which was not the policy of the United States.”