22 May 2017•Update: 22 May 2017
By Kaamil Ahmed
JERUSALEM
A convoy of black armored vehicles poured through the gates to Jerusalem's Western Wall on Monday afternoon as U.S. President Donald Trump became the first serving U.S. president to visit Judaism's holiest site.
Alongside Jewish daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump visited the wall after making his way from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher -- one of Christianity's holiest site -- elsewhere in the Old City.
Trump prayed at the wall and placed a note between its bricks -- a local tradition -- while his daughter prayed in a separate section for women.
Trump visited the Old City at a time when its streets were dark and its shops empty and shuttered for a general strike held to support hunger-striking Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Palestinian residents appeared ambivalent about the high-profile visit, echoing the belief that Trump’s visit was no different than those of other U.S. leaders before him and entertaining little hope in his ability to reach a final peace settlement.
"Nothing changes. All the presidents have come before and nothing changed," Rami Samara, a 39-year-old tour guide from the city's Christian Quarter, told Anadolu Agency.
"He shouldn't have come on this day because it's Jerusalem Day [this week] for Israelis. But it’s a sad day for Palestinians," he added.
Trump's visit comes just before Israelis on Wednesday will mark the "unification" of Jerusalem 50 years ago, which is regarded by Palestinians and the international community as the “occupation” of East Jerusalem.
In a welcoming speech at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said he was "honored" that Trump had come ahead of Jerusalem Day.
Though security was stepped up around Jerusalem's holy sites, some Israelis gathered in the Old City's Jewish Quarter, where they tried -- mostly without success -- to catch a glimpse of the U.S. president.
Shirley Hasbani, a 19-year-old student at a Jewish seminary in the Old City, said people had mixed reactions to Trump's visit, but generally did not know what kind of political impact it would have.
"I was walking around looking for all the sniper spots and I check out the Kotel [Western Wall] while it was empty because I knew it would be chaos," she told Anadolu Agency, noting that Israeli soldiers had taken up positions on all the rooftops in the area.
At the airport, Trump was welcomed by the entire Israeli cabinet, members of which were ordered to attend by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before holding an initial meeting with Rivlin.
Tuesday will also see a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem as Trump attempts to revive long-stalled peace talks in pursuit of an “ultimate deal”.
Since his election campaign, Trump has suggested that he could be the U.S. president to resolve the decades-long Palestine-Israel conflict.
Since assuming the presidency, he has moved away from more controversial proposals, however, such as relocating the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- the eastern half of which Palestinians want as an eventual capital.
The visit comes as part of Trump's first foreign trip, which began in Saudi Arabia -- where he delivered a speech on Islam to Muslim leaders -- on Sunday.
He is also slated to visit the Vatican, where he will meet Roman Catholic Pope Francis.
