Clinton and Trump meet Israeli PM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with the two US presidential candidates in New York on the eve of their historic debate.

Both candidates are expected to use their respective meeting with the Israeli leader to boast of their foreign policy chops.

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, discussed "at length" the wall Israel built to keep out Palestinians. Trump frequently cites the Israeli wall as an example of the wall he wants to build along the US-Mexican border.

Although the Israeli motivation for building a wall is to keep out would-be suicide bombers, Trump is proposing a wall to keep out migrants.

"Trump recognized that Israel and its citizens have suffered far too long on the front lines of Islamic terrorism," his campaign said in a statement. "He agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu that the Israeli people want a just and lasting peace with their neighbors, but that peace will only come when the Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish State."

The Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton "reaffirmed her unwavering commitment" to the US-Israel relationship, after meeting the prime minister.

She also stressed her support for the new, record setting, military aid agreement reached earlier this month between the US and Israeli. The pact, worth $38 billion over 10 years, ensures Israel will maintain a quantum military advantage over its Middle East neighbors.

Foreign policy credentials

Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, has criticized Trump for his lack of foreign relations experience, saying he knows little about the world and lacks the temperament to be president. Trump counters that argument by saying he has extensive experience with foreign policy through his career as a business executive.

He blames Clinton for what he perceives as the country's foreign policy stumbles.

Clinton and Trump are due to square off in the first of three presidential debates Monday night at 21.00 EDT (0100 GMT/UTC, Tuesday).Presidential debates, especially the first one, are often make-or-break moments in a presidential campaign, and this year's debates appear to be more critical than usual.Why the presidential debates between Clinton and Trump are unpredictable

Clinton and Trump are the two most disliked candidates in the history of US presidential polling. They are locked in a tight race. And Trump's penchant for incendiary comments and bombast makes him a lure for television and the media in general.

As many as 100 million people may tune in Monday night. Such an astonishing figure is usually confined to the realm of the Super Bowl, rather than a political debate.

bik/rc (AP, AFP)