Trump to meet Palestinian leader Abbas in West Bank

US President Donald Trump is to meet the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on the final day of his visit to the Middle East

US President Donald Trump will make the short trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Tuesday to meet Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas
US President Donald Trump will make the short trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Tuesday to meet Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas

US President Donald Trump will make the short trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Tuesday to meet Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on the final day of his visit to the Middle East.

His talks in Bethlehem with the Palestinian president come after Trump on Monday made a heavily symbolic visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem and met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Later Tuesday, Trump will return to Jerusalem to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and give a speech at the Israel Museum before wrapping up his two-day stop.

Trump's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories is part of his first trip abroad as president, and follows an initial leg in Saudi Arabia, where he urged Islamic leaders to confront extremism.

He has spoken of reviving long-stalled peace efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians, but few specifics have emerged of how he intends to do so.

Israel and the Palestinians have not held direct talks for more than three years and Trump acknowledged it was "one of the toughest deals of all". But he added that he had a "feeling that we're going to get there eventually".

In both the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians held angry protests against the US president's visit.

On Monday, Trump stressed the strong bonds between the US and Israel.

Trump also warned of the threat from Iran to international peace and told Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran would never have nuclear weapons.

He said Iran should have thanked the United States for the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers because it led to sanctions being lifted.

"Instead of saying thank you to the United States, they now feel emboldened," Trump said.

In Tehran on Monday, Iran's newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani ridiculed US strategy in the Middle East, dismissing Trump's summit with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia as "just a show".