Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Israel on Thursday morning ahead of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum and was greeted by Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz. He followed US Vice President Mike Pence who landed only minutes before. Putin will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later on Thursday. Pence will also meet with Netanyahu and US Ambassador David Friedman at the US Embassy later on Thursday. As the dignitaries land in Israel, Highway 1 is closed to traffic from Ben-Gurion Airport to Jerusalem. World leaders are arriving at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport throughout Wednesday and Thursday morning to attend the Fifth World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. The lineup of foreign dignitaries include presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and key officials from a variety of countries from around the world. Among the first who arrived was the dignitary representing the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Alongside his wife, Babiš landed at the airport and was greeted by a host of officials. During his visit, Babiš was scheduled to meet with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday before attending the World Holocaust Forum on Thursday, as well as meet with Czech Holocaust survivors, the Czech liaison office in Ramallah and European Jewish Congress head Moshe Kantor, Radio Prague reported. German President Frank Walter-Steinmeier was also slated to meet with Rivlin, as well as to visit the AMCHA Centre in Jerusalem to speak with Holocaust survivors, his office said in a statement. Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella will also meet with Rivlin on Thursday, and is set to meet with Slovenian President Borut Pahor, the Italian embassy said in a press release. In his first international trip as head of state, Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández will also speak with Rivlin in his first bilateral meeting with a head of state on foreign soil, the Buenos Aires Times reported. Another head of state arriving Wednesday was His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain. Most notably, Felipe, as most Spanish monarchs have done, claims the title of King of Jerusalem. The UK’s Prince Charles arrived as well. Though the heir-apparent to the British throne has visited Israel twice before, this marks his first ever visit in an official capacity. He is set to meet with Rivlin and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit. Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin met Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky when he landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport ahead of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum. “The political train to Israel continues also in the middle of the night. At about 4 am, I greeted Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who landed in Israel from the Davos Economic Conference. I had a brief conversation with the president about the event at Yad Vashem and the upcoming meetings with President Rivlin and Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is the Jewish president’s first visit to Israel since he was elected,” Elkin tweeted. As part of the US delegation, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, was set arrive Wednesday to attend the World Holocaust Forum. In addition, Kushner was also set to meet with numerous Middle East officials alongside Avi Berkowitz and Brian Hook to discuss a potential rollout of the US peace deal. However, only hours before he was due to arrive, it was announced that he canceled his trip to Israel due to the poor weather delaying flights.
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