Trump postpones trip to Israel

Donald Trump announced Thursday he was postponing his planned trip to Israel, just a day after the Jewish state's prime minister criticized the White House hopeful's inflammatory anti-Muslim proposals.

The frontrunner for the 2016 Republican nomination was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on December 28, but changed course after his call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States met with a chorus of international condemnation.

Facing a backlash over his meeting with Trump, Netanyahu's office on Wednesday issued a statement saying the prime minister "rejects" his remarks on Muslims, and that their planned encounter was simply in line with an established practice of meeting visiting US presidential candidates.

Trump explained his decision saying he did not want to put "pressure" on Netanyahu.

"I have decided to postpone my trip to Israel and to schedule my meeting with @Netanyahu at a later date after I become president of the US," he tweeted.

Speaking later on Fox News, Trump said: "I didn't want to put him under pressure."

Recalling he had once campaigned in support of Netanyahu, Trump insisted he had "a lot of friends from Israel and a tremendous amount of support from the people of Israel."

White House hopefuls often visit Israel as part of efforts to bolster their foreign policy credentials.

Beyond that, Netanyahu has regularly expressed support for Republicans, and the party's candidates have made firm US backing for Israel a central plank of their campaigns.

But the Trump visit had already stirred strong opposition in Israel, with a range of lawmakers opposing it because of his stance towards Muslims.

The White House weighed in on his decision, with spokesman Josh Earnest saying "most people are relieved that he reconsidered."