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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's parliament speaker says a proposal that Donald Trump would speak before the Knesset during his visit to Israel was scrapped over fears that the American president would be interrupted and heckled by some lawmakers.
Yuli Edelstein told Army Radio on Thursday that U.S. officials rejected the idea of a parliament tour and address to lawmakers because of the Knesset's notoriously raucous debates.
Edelstein says "the possibility was explored as a first option, and it was dropped from the agenda because it was clear that the president wouldn't be able to speak" without interjection.
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush addressed the Knesset during visits; Barack Obama opted to speak at a university. Trump delivered a speech across the street from parliament at Jerusalem's Israel Museum.
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