Trump to wade into Mideast politics on first foreign trip

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this month, kicking off his first foreign trip, where he will work to reinvigorate traditional alliances in the region.

Trump said he would also visit the Vatican along with his swing through the Middle East before attending a Nato meeting in Brussels on May 25 and the Group of Seven summit in Sicily on May 26.

The maiden foreign trips of US presidents often take on broader symbolic import, and by choosing the Middle East as his first stop, Trump will highlight his lofty promises to eradicate Islamic State insurgents and bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Trump cast his trip as an effort to build cooperation and support between Muslims, Christians and Jews for fighting terrorism.

Trump's predecessor President Barack Obama had a testy relationship with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, whose leaders viewed him as being concerned less with traditional alliances than with negotiating a deal to rein in Iran's nuclear program.

Trump has been criticized for his "America First" mantra for national security issues, for challenging allies in Nato and the Middle East to do more to pay for their own defense, and for immigration policies that have been cast as anti-Muslim.

Even as he has described himself as a non-interventionist unwilling to be "the policeman of the world", Trump has recently shown he is willing to engage militarily when he sees fit.

Last month, he ordered missile strikes on a Syrian airfield in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that he blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In meetings in Israel, Trump will discuss how he plans to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, a goal that has evaded many previous administrations.

Trump has provided no concrete details on how he will revive long-stalled peace talks, but has asked Israel to limit its building of Jewish settlements on land the Palestinians want for a state.

He has assigned his son-in-law Jared Kushner to oversee efforts.

"We'll approach it, I think, with a lot of humility," a senior administration official told reporters during a preview of the meeting.

Trump met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Wednesday, and will meet with him again during the trip, the White House said.

Officials declined to say where Trump would meet with Abbas, and also said exact dates and other details of the trip would be provided later.

The Vatican said Pope Francis would meet Trump on May 24, a discussion that could be awkward given their opposing positions on immigration, refugees, and climate change.