Sarah Palin visits Western Wall

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JERUSALEM, March 21 (UPI) -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin visited the Western Wall during her two-day visit to Jerusalem that includes dinner with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Shortly after her airplane landed in Tel Aviv Sunday, Palin, accompanied by husband Todd, visited the Western Wall and adjacent tunnels, The Washington Post reported. Excavations of the tunnels have provoked Palestinian protests because of their nearness to the Temple Mount, location of the Dome of the Rock, one of Islam's holiest shrines.

On Monday, Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate now employed by Fox News, was scheduled to tour the Christian Quarter of the Old City before her dinner with Netanyahu.

"I'm thankful to be able to travel to Israel on my way back to the U.S.," Palin said on her Web site as she traveled from India to Israel. "As the world confronts sweeping changes and new realities, I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the key issues facing his country, our ally Israel."

Deputy Knesset speaker Danny Danon, who accompanied Palin on her visit to the Wall, said she was "very connected and touched to be at the Wall."

Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz said Palin prayed near the Holy of Holies and left a note with a personal prayer. CBS reported Palin wore a Star of David to show her solidarity with Israel.

"She said that she absolutely supports Israel and that America is the biggest friend that Israel has," Rabinowitz said.

Netanyahu has met with several other possible U.S. presidential contenders in recent months.