Vice President Pence's office has called the decision by Palestinian officials not to meet with Pence on his visit to the region "unfortunate. The Palestinians are refusing to meet with Pence over President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The statement:
"The Vice President very much looks forward to traveling to the region to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President el-Sisi. It’s unfortunate that the Palestinian Authority is walking away again from an opportunity to discuss the future of the region, but the Administration remains undeterred in its efforts to help achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians and our peace team remains hard at work putting together a plan."
Palestinians are in their third day of protests against President Trump's announcement that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, with violent clashes reported.
Why it matters: According to PBS, four people have been killed since protests started — two Hamas members killed in what Israel said was a retaliatory airstrike, and two Palestinians shot dead during clashes near the Gaza border. Hundreds have been injured.
Prime Minister Theresa May secured a last-minute deal with the European Union yesterday on phase one of Brexit negotiations. But while she managed to resolve issues that had seemed potentially insurmountable just days earlier — and get her own Conservative Party, Northern Irish hardliners, Ireland, and the E.U all to sign off — the next steps could be even dicier.
What's next: The negotiations now move onto phase two, centered around the future of the U.K.-E.U. trade relationship. That issue makes up the very core of Brexit, and it's set to tear open fault lines between British politicians — even within May's own Cabinet — who have competing views of how far Brexit should ultimately go.
