Trump's pro-Israel "superhawk" security aide to visit Tel Aviv

Trump's pro-Israel "superhawk" security aide to visit Tel Aviv
Washington's National Security Advisor and pro-Israel "superhawk" John Bolton is set to visit Israel for discussions next week, the White House said on Tuesday.
2 min read
15 August, 2018
Bolton is popular among the Israeli far-right [Getty]
Washington's National Security Advisor John Bolton is set to visit Israel for discussions next week, the White House said on Tuesday.

The top official, known as a pro-Israel "superhawk", is to visit the Jewish state as part of a trip that will also include stops in Ukraine and Geneva, where he is set to follow up talks with Russian officials following Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last month, according to a statement issued by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Details on Bolton's schedule for the trip were not released.

The trip to Israel will be the first for Bolton in his current capacity. Israeli hardliners praised his appointment in March of this year, including far-right minister Naftali Bennett, who called Bolton a "stalwart friend of Israel."

Known to be brash and bellicose in his approach to politics, Bolton advocates a "three state solution" for Israel-Palestine, dissolving any hopes for Palestinian statehood by giving Gaza to Egypt and the West Bank to Jordan.

Botlon previously visited Israel as undersecretary of state under president George W. Bush in 2004, where he held talks discussing sanctions against Iran. 

During his tenure as the US ambassador to the UN, Bolton tirelessly advocated for Israel against Iran.

He also reportedly tried to convince former Israel Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz to carry out a pre-emptive strike on Iran in the mid 2000s.