According to a White House statement, US President George W. Bush will visit Israel in
honor of its 60th anniversary as part of his May 13-18 trip to the Middle East, during which he will also visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
He has pledged to bolster Israeli-Palestinian peace talks during his trip, but the White House said on Monday he is "under no illusions" of a quick breakthrough.
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It will be Bush's second visit to Israel and neighboring Arab states since hosting the Annapolis Peace Summit in
Maryland in November, where Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged to try to reach a peace deal before he leaves office in January 2009.
However, since then Bush has become increasingly skeptical as to his success in the quest for Middle East peace after so many of his predecessors failed. White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino insisted that Olmert, Abbas, and Bush remain committed to the peace effort but acknowledged that "more needs to be done."
"Moments like when the president is going to go and travel to the region can create opportunity to push this system a little bit further, but we're under no illusions that things are going to happen immediately," she told reporters as she released details of Bush's itinerary.
"There's a lot of deep-seated history that has to be addressed if they're going to define a state by the end of the year," she added.
She sought to play down discouraging words from Abbas, who said on Saturday after last week's White House talks that he was uncertain that a peace deal was possible this year. Aides said he came away disappointed from his meetings in Washington.
"The Palestinian people are assured that the president is committed to helping them establish their own state," Perino said.
Despite that, the chance of significant progress during Bush's trip may be dimmed by the lack of three-way talks between Bush, Abbas and Olmert.
Bush is scheduled to meet Israeli leaders and address the Knesset, after which he plans to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Abdullah before going to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he will see Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah.
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