CMEP Bulletin: Obama Plans Visit, Complicates Coalition Talks

CMEP Bulletin: Obama Plans Visit, Complicates Coalition Talks

weekly Washington update on Middle East

Obama to visit Israel and the West Bank

Tuesday, the White House confirmed that President Obama will travel to Israel and the West Bank in March. Obama last visited in July of 2008, but has not returned since he was elected president. According to Reuters, this trip will give Obama and Netanyahu “a chance to try to repair their notoriously fractious relationship.”

The Times of Israel reports that Obama will call for a peace summit between Israel and the Palestinian Authority while he is in Israel. Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said he was “certain” that efforts to arrange such a meeting were already under way.” However, White House Spokesman Jay Carney elucidates: “That is not the purpose of this visit.”

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