Israel, Washington discuss potential Trump visit: Israeli official

Israel and the United States held preliminary talks about a possible visit by President Donald Trump to Jerusalem, an Israeli official said.

"There are initial discussions between the (Israeli) foreign ministry and officials with the (U.S.) administration about a visit by President Trump," said an Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the details of the visit have not been set.

He estimated the chances that the visit would happen as "very high."

The Hebrew-language Ynet news site reported that a U.S. delegation would arrive in Israel on Thursday to begin talks on the subject.

The Times of Israel reported that Trump, who is expected to hold his first travel overseas as a president to Brussels next month, might expand his trip by arriving in Israel on May 21 or in the following days.

The trip would mark Trump's first official visit to Israel. If materialized, the trip would come at a sensitive time, as Israel marks Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration to mark the "unification" of Jerusalem. Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it shortly later, announcing it as its "undividable" capital. The move has never been internationally recognized.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Trump in Washington in February. They talked about a positive change between the two allies after years of frictions with the Barack Obama administration, mainly over the expansion of the West Bank settlements and the nuclear deal with Iran. Endit