Prez Obama to visit Israel, Palestine between March 20-22

Jerusalem, March 11: US Prsident Barack Obama is set to visit Israel and Palestinian territories for a three-day tour starting on March 20, an official statement from Israel said on Sunday.

The statement, issued from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau, said Obama would arrive at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv and then head for talks with President Shimon Peres. He would meet Netanyahu over dinner. He would also meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah, respectively.

This will be Obama's first visit to Israel and West Bank as the US President.

On March 22, the US President will attend a ceremony at Mount Herzl where he would lay a wreath on the grave of assassinated former Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin before going to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Institute.

Obama will also inspect a US-funded Iron Dome missile defence battery during his trip, before taking off for Jordan. He said there would be no significant middle east peace initiative during his visit and it would be more an occasion to focus on broad range of issues.

Netanyahu said his talks with Obama would feature Iran's nuclear programme, the crisis in Syria and the diplomatic relation with the Palestinians.

OneIndia News