President Donald Trump. Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons.

US President Donald Trump told a major Israeli newspaper this weekend he was looking forward to a “wonderful and productive” trip to the Jewish state later this month.

In a statement published by Israel Hayom, Trump said, “I am honored to accept the invitation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for my first visit to Israel as president, where we will emphasize the need to further strengthen the US-Israeli partnership, which has been a great success for many years.”

“We will discuss a range of regional issues of mutual concern, including the need to counter the threats posed by Iran and its proxies, and by ISIS and by other terrorist groups,” Trump continued. “We will also discuss ways to advance a genuine and lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.”

Trump will make a two-day stop in Israel on May 22-23 as part of his week-long first overseas journey as president. Other destinations on his itinerary include Saudi Arabia, Italy and Belgium.

As reported in The Algemeiner on Friday, Israeli police have begun planning a massive security operation — involving 10,000 officers — to protect Trump during his visit.