Romney seeks to boost U.S.-Israeli ties

• Tweet

JERUSALEM, July 28 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney's camp indicated the U.S. presidential candidate's speech in Israel Saturday would build up the longstanding alliance between the two nations.

The presumptive Republican nominee moved on to Israel Saturday in what will be a closely watched preview of how a Romney administration would address the tensions in the Middle East.

"Given that so many of the threats to our values, to our way of life, and to our system of government are threats that would impact both Israel and the United States ... we need to do that much more to lock arms with Israel's leaders and convey to the world that we will treat threats to Israel as threats to America," Romney adviser Dan Senor told reporters.

Romney has meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders. He also will appear at a fundraiser breakfast Monday near the Wailing Wall with a small group of well-heeled American donors.

Romney will also sit down Sunday with Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority; however, his schedule does not include a meeting with Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected on the anti-Israel Fatah ticket.

ABC News noted Romney's speech falls on Tisha B'ay, a national day of mourning in which Israel remembers various tragedies in the history of the Jewish people.