U.S.Special Envoy George Mitchell arrived in Israel as tensions simmered between Palestinians and Israelis over access to the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, compound in Jerusalem that houses sites holy to both Jews and Muslims.

VOA: standard.2009.10.08

Despite U.S.demands for Israel to stop or restrain construction of Jewish housing in disputed East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, during the Biden visit Israeli officials announced their approval of construction of 1,600 new Jewish housing units in East Jerusalem.

VOA: standard.2010.03.11