Mike Pompeo has visited an archaeological dig run by an Israeli settler group accused of displacing Palestinian families from their homes in occupied neighbourhoods of Jerusalem.

The trip on Wednesday night was the first time a US secretary of state had officially visited a settlement, a deeply provocative move that previous American administrations went to lengths to avoid.

Wonderful to see the work being done to preserve the ancient @City_of_David and the new discoveries by archaeologists working in the area. Thank you to Ze’ev Orenstein for the fascinating tour of the site of three thousand years of ancient history. pic.twitter.com/oA0FFQ3maP

Related: Mike Pompeo makes provocative visit to Israeli settlement

Here’s the Washington Post verdict this morning on trying to understand what Donald Trump is trying to actually achieve with his protracted dispute of his election defeat.

President Trump has abandoned his plan to win reelection by disqualifying enough ballots to reverse President-elect Joe Biden’s wins in key battleground states, pivoting instead to a goal that appears equally unattainable: delaying a final count long enough to cast doubt on Biden’s decisive victory.

Rudy Giuliani has told Trump and associates that his ambition is to pressure GOP lawmakers and officials across the political map to stall the vote certification in an effort to have Republican lawmakers pick electors and disrupt the electoral college when it convenes next month — and Trump is encouraging of that plan, according to two senior Republicans who have conferred with Giuliani and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter candidly.

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