Duterte in Israel for first visit by a Philippines president

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been accused of condoning human rights abuses in his deadly drug crackdown and who has made controversial comments about the Holocaust, received a warm welcome in Israel when he arrived Sunday for an official visit.

Before his departure from Manila, Duerte said he "looks forward to broader cooperation on a broad range of mutually important areas defense and security, law enforcement, economic development, trade (and) investments and labor."
Speaking in Hebrew, she said "I wish I could hug him and thank him for everything he does." She said her home country is safer now and that accusations of rights abuses are "untrue."