Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Israel on Monday and addressed members of the parliament. During his speech, over a dozen lawmakers took part in a protest as a fight broke out on the floor.
Pence's backlash
During the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump made it clear where he stood on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The former host of "The Apprentice" has long championed support for Israel, which has gone over well with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Multiple times during his campaign, Trump vowed to move the United States embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in a move that has angered the international community as it pertains to the Middle East and the surrounding regions as many believe it will prevent progress from being made on a two-state solution.
As 2017 came to a close, Trump announced that he would be following through on his campaign promise and move the embassy, which quickly received praise from Israel, but criticism from nearly every other foreign nation, including massive backlash at the United Nations. With tensions high, Mike Pence made his way to Israel on Monday to address the parliament, which resulted in a fight breaking out on the floor, as reported by CBS News on January 22.
Chaos erupted as some lawmakers tried to charge forward with signs, protesting Vice President Mike Pence's address before the Israeli parliament. pic.twitter.com/BjmOGuJdQb
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 22, 2018
On Monday morning, Mike Pence spoke to the Israeli Parliament about a number of issues, but was briefly interrupted after over a dozen lawmakers on the floor took part in a protest.
With signs opposing the move of the United States embassy, protesting lawmakers attempted to charge at Pence while he was giving his speech, but were quickly met with opposition.
During his speech, Mike Pence made it clear that the United States was going to move forward with Donald Trump's previous announcement. "Our president made his decision in the best interest of the United States,” Pence went on to say, before adding, "The United States has chosen fact over fiction." The vice president confirmed that the embassy move would take place at some point in 2019.
Next up
As Donald Trump and his administration continue to create controversy on an international stage, the president still has major issues to worry about back in the United States. As of press time, the government is still shut down after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a budget deal before last Saturday morning, with issues dealing with DACA and border security being the biggest hangups. A vote for a short-term deal has been scheduled for Monday afternoon, but it's unknown if there is enough support in Congress to pass it through.
