Pompeo discusses Trump Syria moves with Netanyahu

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday as President Donald Trump's policy changes on Syria sparked concern among Israelis.

Pompeo arrived in Israel after he and US Vice President Mike Pence negotiated a deal that will see Turkey suspend its Syria offensive, but which drew criticism over what many saw as an abandonment of Washington's Kurdish allies.

Washington's top diplomat and the veteran prime minister began the meeting on Friday morning at Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem.

Israelis have been watching Trump's decisions on Syria closely, concerned that their country too could be abandoned by its most important ally.

Beyond that, Israel has longstanding concerns over whether arch-enemy Iran will move to fill any vacuum in neighbouring Syria, where Tehran has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad in an eight-year-old civil war.

Netanyahu has also had tense relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause.

After the temporary ceasefire was announced, Trump heaped praise on Erdogan, calling him "a hell of a leader."
It also warned "against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies."