UPDATE 1-Israel says Pompeo to visit soon, help with gas export plan

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel imminently to help with its plan for exporting natural gas to Europe with Cypriot and Greek partners, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

Israel is hoping to enlist several European countries in the construction of a 2,000 kilometre (1,243 mile) pipeline linking vast eastern Mediterranean gas resources to Europe at a cost of $7 billion. "In a few days, the leaders of Cyprus and Greece will come here, together with ... Pompeo, to advance a gas pipeline from Israel to Europe via these countries," Netanyahu told naval cadets in the port city of Haifa.

The U.S. Embassy in Israel declined comment. (Writing by Dan Williams; editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Cawthorne)