TEL AVIV — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s planned trip to Israel is on hold and it is not certain when he will be coming, the Times of Israel and other media outlets reported on Monday.
According to the reports, quoting officials in Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Pence will definitely not be coming to Israel in the coming month.
The vice president was initially expected to arrive in Israel before Christmas, but postponed his trip due to the White House needing his vote in Congress to push through a tax reform.
The Palestinian Authority announced it would boycott Pence during his visit over U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem on December 6.
Pence went instead to Afghanistan, where he spent Christmas with U.S. troops posted there.
According to the Times of Israel, the January itinerary of the Foreign Ministry includes a visit by Scott Pruitt, current head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but not one by Pence.
Pence was initially scheduled to arrive in Israel after a brief visit to Egypt. His schedule contained some milestones: The vice president was expected to address the Knesset and to conclude his visit to the country with a tour of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
When the visit was canceled at the last minute, Pence’s press secretary cited the tax reform as the reason.
“The vice president is committed to seeing the tax cut through to the finish line,” said Alyssa Farah, Pence’s press secretary. Pence was “looking forward to traveling to Egypt and Israel in January,” she added at the time.
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