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Report: Pence’s Visit to Israel in Doubt, Again

Israel says the vice president has postponed his trip indefinitely, while Pence’s office insists it’s still planned.

An Israeli official on Sunday said U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is not scheduled to visit Israel this month, casting doubt on a Middle East trip that has already been postponed once. Pence had initially been due to visit Israel and Egypt in December, but that trip was pushed back at the last minute amid an international uproar over the White House decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Palestinian authorities had canceled a planned meeting with Pence over the Jerusalem move, though he cited a vote on the GOP’s tax-overhaul bill as the reason for the trip’s delay. He was expected to make up for it with a visit in mid-January, but Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said he’d postponed his trip indefinitely due to “various scheduling difficulties.” Pence’s deputy chief of staff, Jarrod Agen, refuted the reported delay, however, saying “we are going later this month.” He did not specify when the trip would be made.