In light of the diplomatic dust up that occurred after Israel’s Channel 2 television reported that a U.S. official considered the Western Wall in Jerusalem outside of Israeli sovereignty and the resulting denial from the beleaguered administration of President Donald J. Trump, United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley offers clarity, moral and otherwise on this issue.

During an interview with The Brody File, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley made it perfectly clear that the Western Wall in Jerusalem belongs to Israel:

I don’t know what the policy of the administration is, but I believe the Western Wall is part of Israel and I think that that is how we’ve always seen it and that’s how we should pursue it.  . . .

We’ve always thought the Western Wall was part of Israel.

As usual Ambassador Haley succinctly addressed the issue directly and correctly. She is such a breath of fresh air.

The diplomatic amateur hour kerfuffle came about when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu asked t0 accompany President Trump on his visit to the Western Wall, only to be denied on those grounds that the Western Wall is not part of Israel. The Western Wall is part of Judaism’s holiest site, the Temple Mount, which were liberated by Israel fifty years ago during the 1967 Six Day War. Jordanian forces occupied the site 1948 to 1967. During that time Jews were prohibited from accessing it.

Reuters reports that Netanyahu’s office was shocked by the Trump administration’s faux pas:

“The statement that the Western Wall is in an area in the West Bank was received with shock,” said the official in Netanyahu’s office.

“We are convinced that this statement is contrary to the policy of President Trump … Israel has made contact with the U.S. on this matter,” the official said.

The new U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, visited the Western Wall on Monday. According to Reuters, it is highly unusual and a departure from diplomatic protocol for a new envoy to visit the holy site just hours after arriving in Israel.