Donald Trump first US president to visit Western Wall

US President Donald Trump today became the first sitting US head of state to visit the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray in the city of Jerusalem, writes Belgrade-based Danas, reports Patria.
 
Trump thus broke a long-standing tradition whereby US presidents avoided visiting this holy site due to its political sensitivity concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
The US President, accompanied by his wife Melania, had previously visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where, according to Christian belief, Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and resurrected.
 
Trump arrived at these major holy sites in the first hours of his visit to Israel after arriving around noon from Saudi Arabia, the first stop of his first trip abroad since his election.
 
At the Western Wall, Trump approached with a black kippah on his head, a small cap with which Jews cover their scalps, placed his right hand on it, and in accordance with tradition, placed a piece of paper with a prayer among the cracks of the ancient structure dating back to the Second Temple built during the time of King Herod.
 
The US administration rejected Israel's request for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accompany Trump during the visit, and his host was the rabbi in charge of the Wall, Shmuel Rabinovich.
 
Trump's wife Melania and daughter Ivanka, who converted to Judaism, visited the women's section of the Wall.
 
The Western Wall is located in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed, a move never recognized by the international community. Given the sensitivity of the holy site, Trump's visit to the church and the Western Wall was declared private.
 
Trump's predecessor Barack Obama visited the Western Wall before he became president, while campaigning for the presidency as a senator. Other presidents visited the Old City, but not while in office, according to Israeli media.
 
Ahead of the visit, the Western Wall caused a misunderstanding between the two allied countries because a US official stated that it was not on Israeli territory, and later other officials refused to comment, explaining that it was a political stance.