Nikki Haley to visit Israel

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is scheduled to pay a solidarity visit to Israel next week.

Haley, who served as ambassador during Trump’s presidency, plans to tour communities near the Gaza border as well as in the north of the country during her visit, which is set to begin on Monday, according to former Israeli U.N. envoy Danny Danon, who is to accompany her. She is also scheduled to meet with Israeli leaders and senior security officials.

Haley’s visit comes after a group of former Trump administration foreign policy officials met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials on Monday.

The group was headed by former national security advisor Robert O’Brien and included former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates John Rakolta and former ambassador to Switzerland Ed McMullen, according to Reuters.

While according to the report the trip was not arranged by Trump, he will nevertheless likely be briefed on the conversations.

Haley announced on Wednesday that she would support Trump’s third bid for the White House, putting aside their past differences. She has recently been rumored to be under consideration as Trump’s running mate, although Trump himself quickly rebuffed this.

Haley mounted an unexpectedly robust challenge to Trump in the Republican primaries, garnering support from a broad coalition of mainstream party donors, officials and voters. She amassed 97 delegates, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

But Trump dominated the primary race from the outset, steamrolling his opponents with a campaign war chest unmatched in modern presidential politics. He ultimately secured the 1,237 delegates required to clinch the Republican nomination on the first ballot.

Haley’s decision to back Trump reflects the former president’s continued grip on the Republican base despite his role in the Jan. 6 riot and his third indictment on criminal charges earlier this month. Yet her willingness to join his campaign in some capacity also underscores the fissures within the party over how to move forward after the tumultuous Trump era.

Trump has recently come out in strong support of Israel’s war against Hamas. At a rally in New Jersey earlier this month, the former president voiced his support for “Israel’s right to win its war on terror,” and claimed Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack would not have occurred under his watch.

The Israel Democracy Institute’s April 2024 Israeli Voice Index showed a plurality of Israelis prefer Trump to Biden.

This is a version of an article originally published by Israel Hayom.