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Pence, Haley tout US commitment to Israel at AIPAC conf.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (KUNA) -- US Vice President Mike Pence and US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley touted the Trump administration's strong relations with Israel to a crowd of thousands at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual policy conference late Monday.
In his addresses at AIPAC, Pence reaffirmed US commitment to Israel, highlighting the Trump administration's decision to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which is set to open in May.
"While every president for the past two decades promised to recognize the capital of Israel, President Trump did more than promise, he delivered," Pence said at the largest pro-Israel gathering in Washington. "We finally acknowledged the obvious." Pence said that the Trump administration still considers Middle East peace a high priority and that it would support a two-state solution if both sides agree to it. He also announced Trump administration officials were working to prepare President Donald Trump's peace plan.
"As we gather here, our team- Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt, and our great ambassador [David Friedman]- are hard at work crafting our administration's vision for peace," Pence continued, "And while any peace will undoubtedly require compromise, know this: The US will never compromise the safety and security of the Jewish State of Israel." The Vice President also pledged respond to Iran's provocative actions in the Middle East and warned the US would pull out of the nuclear deal with Iran in the coming months unless lawmakers move to fix the agreement.
"Unless the Iran nuclear deal is fixed in the coming months, the US will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal immediately," Pence said.
Also speaking at AIPAC, Haley hit back at critics who say that the US favors Israel, saying, "There's nothing wrong with showing favoritism towards an ally. That's what being an ally all is about." She also accused the UN of "bullying" saying, "at the UN and throughout the UN agencies, Israel does get bullied. It gets bullied because the countries that don't like Israel are used to being able to get away with it" said Haley, warning, "We will not tolerate a situation that a world body of 198 countries can spend half their time attacking one country: Israel." Earlier, Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House where he "reaffirmed the commitment of the US to Israel's security" and underscored his goal of "countering Iran's malign influence," the White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
Trump also emphasized "his commitment to achieving a lasting peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians." (end) hy.mb