Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was welcomed in Israel Monday afternoon at the start of a three-day visit during which he is also slated to stop over in the West Bank, DPA reported.
Berlusconi is accompanied by eight of his ministers. They are due to participate Tuesday in the first ever joint Israeli-Italian cabinet meeting.
After landing in Tel Aviv, the delegation drove to Jerusalem for an official welcoming ceremony at the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom the Italian premier is also slated to have dinner after visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial institute in the afternoon.
Berlusconi is slated to meet Palestinian officials in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on Wednesday.