Donald Trump arrives in Israel as Russia scandal continues

Donald Trump arrived in Israel today hoping to revive his presidency by preparing the ground for a Middle East peace deal.

The embattled US president was due to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders over two days, with the shadow of the “Russia-gate” scandal in Washington still hanging over him.

He was likely to face questions about his decision to share classified Israeli information on Islamic State with Russian officials last week.

Mr Trump insisted he was within his rights to share the information despite it allegedly putting the source — understood to be an Israeli spy embedded within IS — in danger.

The Israelis will also want to know more about the $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia that Mr Trump announced on Saturday in Riyadh. Senior Israeli officials described the sale as “trouble”.

According to the Jerusalem Post, some Israeli ministers threatened to boycott the airport welcome ceremony because of Mr Trump’s mixed messages about their country. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to issue an order instructing them to attend.

The president has told aides that he regards his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as the key to unlocking the Middle East impasse. Mr Trump and his advisers, including Jason Greenblatt his long-serving business lawyer, were first to have a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem.

Mr Trump was expected to lay a wreath at the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem before meeting Mr Netanyahu. Later this evening, accompanied by First Lady Melania, Mr Trump will have dinner with the Prime Minister and his wife.

Tomorrow he will sit down with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem. Middle East analysts believe the climate is ripe for an agreement, especially since Israel was taking steps to improve relations with initiatives such as construction permits for sites along the West Bank.

Mr Trump remains confident that daughter Ivanka’s husband can establish a path to peace. “If you can’t produce peace in the Middle East, nobody can,” he told Mr Kushner during a speech at a pre-inauguration dinner on January 20.

Mr Trump surprised Mr Netanyahu during a visit to the White House by asking him to delay laying down settlements in Palestinian territory. Meanwhile, the father of former FBI director James Comey said he believed Mr Trump fired his son because the president was “scared to death of him”.

J. Brien Comey told CNN his son was a “straightforward and honest guy”.

But he said he thought the president had got rid of him “because Jim tells the truth (while) Trump runs around lying most of the day”.

The president has come under heavy fire since axing the popular FBI chief, who was overseeing an investigation into the Trump campaign team’s alleged links with Russia.