Donald Trump addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2016 Policy Conference in Washington, DC, March 21, 2016.(Photo: Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Donald Trump, under fire for past comments about the Middle East,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pledged Monday to protect Israel from threats ranging from the Iran nuclear deal to the possibility that the United Nations would seek to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>impose some sort of settlement with the Palestinians.
"When I become<span style="color: Red;">*</span>President, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one," Trump told the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
While Trump has previously said he would be neutral between the Israelis and the Palestinians, he described the Palestinians as unwilling partners and said they will have to stop attacks on Israel before he would support any kind of agreement.
Reading from a prepared text off a Teleprompter — both rarities for him — Trump also pledged to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to "the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem."
Trump's previous pledge of neutrality inspired a small walkout by some AIPAC members, but his actual speech drew much applause from delegates that remained.
Trump's Republican rivals<span style="color: Red;">*</span>also spoke to AIPAC — including<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who mocked Trump for making repeated references to "Palestine."
"Palestine has not existed since 1948," Cruz to applause from the crowd.
Cruz said, "we need a president who will be a champion for Israel," and he criticized both President Obama and Trump for what he described as equivocal attitudes toward Israel.
Echoing Trump's line earlier in the campaign, Cruz said that "I will not be neutral" toward Israel.
Trump's other Republican opponent,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ohio Gov. John Kasich, told the crowd that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I remain unwavering in my support for the Jewish state,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and pledged to "strengthen and expand" Israel's unique partnership<span style="color: Red;">*</span>with the United States, including military assistance.
Kasich<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said he has called for suspending the Obama administration's nuclear agreement with Iran because of the latter's ballistic<span style="color: Red;">*</span>missile tests, and condemned<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a Palestinian<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"culture of death" that has led<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to deadly attacks on Israelis.
In a possible reference to Trump, Kasich —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the former U.S. House member —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I don't need on-the-job training."
In his remarks, Trump also<span style="color: Red;">*</span>pledged to dismantle the "disastrous" nuclear deal with Iran, saying the Obama administration's agreement leaves Iran vulnerable to nuclear blackmail from Tehran.
"Let me tell you this deal is catastrophic,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Trump said, though some members of the crowd laughed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>when the New York businessman claimed he has studied the issue more than anybody. At another point, the crowed laughed when Trump promoted his book, The Art Of The Deal.
The Republican front-runner<span style="color: Red;">*</span>also denounced<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"the utter weakness and incompetence of the United Nations," though he praised the organization back in 2005. Before AIPAC, Trump said he would<span style="color: Red;">*</span>work to block any effort to impose a Palestinian settlement on Israel.
On the political front, Trump denounced Obama by saying that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"he may the worst thing that ever happened to Israel," while Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>is a "total disaster."
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