The visit was controversial since it was seen by many as a step towards normalised relations with Israel, which captured the western part of the city during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and later on occupied the eastern part of it during the 1967 Six-Day War.
أثارت الزيارة الكثير من الجدل حيث رأها الكثيرون خطوة للأمام نحو التطبيع مع إسرائيل، التي احتلت القدس الغربية خلال حرب 1948، واحتلت بعد ذلك القدس الشرقية خلال حرب 1967.