Trump, in Israel, says he has new reasons to hope for Middle East peace

U.S. President Donald Trump said in Israel on May 22 he came away from a weekend visit to Saudi Arabia with new reasons for hope that peace and stability could be achieved in the Middle East.

On the second leg of his first overseas trip since entering office, Trump held talks separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a stopover lasting 28 hours.

The U.S. leader also prayed at Judaism's Western Wall and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and on May 23 he will travel to Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu and his wife Sara, as well as President Reuven Rivlin and members of the Israeli cabinet, were at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport to greet Trump and first lady Melania in a red carpet ceremony after what is believed to have been the first direct flight from Riyadh to Israel.

"During my travels in recent days, I have found new reasons for hope," Trump said in a brief speech on arrival.

"We have before us a rare opportunity to bring security and stability and peace to this region and its people, defeating terrorism and creating a future of harmony, prosperity and peace, but we can only get there working together. There is no other way," he said.

Trump's tour comes in the shadow of difficulties at home, where he is struggling to contain a scandal after firing James Comey as FBI director nearly two weeks ago. The trip ends on Saturday after visits to the Vatican, Brussels and Sicily.

During his two days in Riyadh, Trump received a warm welcome from Arab leaders, who focused on his desire to restrain Iran's influence in the region, a commitment they found wanting in the Republican president's Democratic predecessor, Barack...