Bush to visit Middle East on peace mission

US president George Bush is going to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt next month to try to speed up the Middle East peace process and celebrate the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary.

The six-day trip, from May 13-18, comes as the president tries to help secure a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians before he leaves office in January.

The White House confirmed Mr Bush’s itinerary yesterday.

He will meet Israel’s president Shimon Peres and prime minister Ehud Olmert and speak to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament – a first for Mr Bush.

In Saudi Arabia, Mr Bush will meet King Abdullah and in Egypt, he will visit President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Bush last visited the Middle East in January.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said all of the issues entwined in the peace process were “dynamic and fluid” and that Mr Bush’s visit was aimed at pushing them in the right direction.

“We’re going to have to push them faster than they’ve been going,” she said.