Brazil president visits Western Wall with Netanyahu in first

AFP  |  Jerusalem 

Brazilian visited the alongside on Monday, becoming the first to do so with an Israeli

Such visits can be seen as granting tacit approval to Israeli sovereignty over the site.

An Israeli said it was the first time a sitting had visited there with an Israeli

The two men approached the wall and placed their hands on its stones during the brief visit in rainy weather.

Bolsonaro's visit follows a similar one by US on March 21, when he became the first high-ranking American to visit the with an Israeli

has expressed his strong support for and spoke of being moved by a Christian pilgrimage to the he undertook a couple of years ago.

He has also pledged to follow in US Donald Trump's footsteps and move embassy to Jerusalem, but that is on hold for now.

Trump became the first sitting American to visit the wall, the where are allowed to pray, in May 2017, but he was not accompanied by any Israeli leaders.

Monday's visit and the one by Pompeo come ahead of Israel's April 9 elections in which is facing a tough challenge from centrist former

The visits have provided him with an opportunity to further his argument that he is Israel's irreplaceable statesman, a key part of his campaign.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, April 01 2019. 21:40 IST