A White House official on Sunday dismissed reports that Vice President JD Vance was scheduled to visit Israel on Tuesday, noting that no additional international trips had been finalized. Officials in White House tell Israeli counterparts that reports of possible arrival of vice president incorrect and he is expected to return to the US on Monday, despite the reports he might continue from Rome to Israel after attending Pope Leo XVI's inauguration mass in Rome.
"While the Secret Service has engaged in contingency planning for the addition of several potential countries, no additional visits were at any point decided upon," ABC reported an official as saying.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel Hayom learned that Israeli officials were preparing as though it will go ahead despite no final plans for what would be the first such visit since he was inaugurated. American officials, speaking before it transpired that no visit was in the making, said such a visit was not a "compensation visit" following President Donald Trump's decision to skip Israel during his recent Middle East tour. Instead, they said, Vance's arrival would be intended to support efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.
