Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Qatar's prime minister on Friday before he visits Israel this weekend, showing how the Trump administration is trying to balance relations between key Middle East allies days after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in a strike on Doha.

Despite tensions between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rubio will arrive in Israel on Sunday for a two-day visit. It is a show of support for the increasingly isolated country before the United Nations holds likely contentious debate on the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu opposes.

Rubio also is expected to travel to a divisive archeological site in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim for the capital of what they hope is an eventual independent nation.

The same

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