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Pompeo scheduled to visit Israel, meet heads of new coalition government

The visit would be the first by a senior U.S. foreign official since Israel closed its borders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo by Ron Przysucha.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo by Ron Przysucha.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to visit Israel next week, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The scheduled 24-hour visit would be the first by a senior foreign official since Israel closed its borders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The reason for Pompeo’s upcoming visit is unclear, but would come as Israel is about to swear-in a new coalition government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, and as Israel is expected to annex parts of the West Bank.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told Axios that the department has “no trips to announce right now.”

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