TEL AVIV: US Vice President Mike Pence began a visit to Israel on Sundayafter being praised as a “great friend” by Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu and shunned by the Palestinians over US recognition of Jerusalemas Israel’s capital.Pence was welcomed at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport byIsrael’s tourism minister and made no statement to reporters beforetraveling to Jerusalem.It is the highest-level US visit to the region since President Donald Trumpmade his Jerusalem declaration on Dec. 6 and promised to begin the processof moving the American embassy to the city, whose status is at the heart ofthe Israeli-Palestinian conflict.With the Palestinians boycotting Pence, the visit provides little obviousopportunity to build bridges toward peace.But it gave Pence, a conservative Christian, Netanyahu, a right-winger whohas hailed US evangelicals for their support of Israel, an opportunity toshine a spotlight on the holy land visit and their own warm relationshipfor a community that serves as a power base for Trump and his vicepresident.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, calling Trump’s declaration a “slap inthe face’, has rejected Washington as an honest broker in any future talkswith Israel. Abbas left for an overseas visit before Pence arrived.Pence, who flew into Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport from Jordan on a USmilitary plane after visiting US troops on the Syrian border, was met byIsrael’s tourism minister, Yariv Levin.Netanyahu, addressing his cabinet earlier on Sunday, described Pence as a“great friend of the State of Israel” and said they would discuss USefforts “to halt Iran’s aggression, the Iranian nuclear program, and waysto advance peace and security in the region.”“Anyone who truly wants to fulfill those goals knows there is no substituteto the United States’ leadership,” Netanyahu said.Trump’s shift on Jerusalem overturned decades of US policy that its statusshould be decided in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. His declaration drewuniversal condemnation from Arab leaders and widespread criticism elsewhere.In comments delivered in Egypt, his first stop on the Middle East visit,Pence said Washington would support a two-state solution for Israelis andPalestinians if the two sides agreed to it.Visiting Jordan on Sunday before flying to Israel, Pence told its monarch,King Abdullah, that Washington was committed to preserving the status quoof holy sites in Jerusalem, a city sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians.