U.S. House Leader Nancy Pelosi arrives in Israel, vows support on Iran

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Israel on Wednesday as part of a Congressional delegation to the country, reiterating the United States’ “iron clad” support for Israel’s security.

“We’re together in the fight against terrorism posed by Iran, both in the region and also its nuclear development,” she said in a speech at the Knesset. “Israel’s proximity to Iran is a concern to all of us.”

The Democratic House speaker also said she hoped that the Senate will “very soon” approve the additional funding that the House passed last September for the Iron Dome anti-missile system, which Israel uses to intercept homemade rockets fired from the blockaded Gaza Strip. The visit came at a time of heightened tensions following clashes between Palestinians and Jewish settlers in the flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza in a 1967 war.

Pelosi reiterated the United States’s commitment to a two-state solution “that enhances stability and security for Israel, Palestinians and their neighbours”. She is set to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday, but her schedule did not include a visit to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.