Bush to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush will visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in May, a trip intended to hail Israel’s 60th anniversary but also shove along Mideast peace talks that have stalled as Bush’s term winds down.

The White House on Monday released details of Bush’s trip, the broad outline of which had been expected for weeks. Bush, who was in the Middle East in January to try to advance peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, had indicated then that he would return in May to honor Israel’s founding.

Pushing for a peace deal before he leaves office — including the contours of a Palestinian state — Bush has stepped up his hands-on diplomacy.

His trip runs from May 13 to 18.

Bush has no plans to hold talks in the West Bank this time, but will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt.

Since the president welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas to a peace summit in Maryland last November, the talks between the sides have had halting progress. Familiar obstacles, including violence and disputes over Israel’s expanding settlements in the West Bank, have emerged again.

In Israel, Bush will meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Olmert and speak to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, which will be a first for Bush. He will honor “close ties over the past six decades” with Israel, said White House press secretary Dana Perino.

“The president is going to go there to celebrate, but also to continue to push on the peace process,” Perino said.

Bush to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt

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