(IsraelNN.com) United States President George W. Bush will visit Israel in the middle of January. The trip was planned during Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit to the White House last week and was kept secret until Tuesday, when it was announced on Channel 2 television.
It still is not clear if Bush will also visit other countries in the region, and whether he will meet with Mahmoud Abbas.

Bush's visit to Israel is seen both as a follow-up on the Annapolis conference, and a show of support for Olmert and Israel against the background of the Iranian nuclear crisis. It still is not clear whether President Bush's wife, Laura, will accompany him on the trip, nor is it known if Bush will visit other countries in the region, like Jordan or Egypt, and whether he will meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

George W. Bush has visited Israel previously, most recently when he was Governor of Texas, in 1998. He met with many Israeli leaders and visited various sites, including the Western Wall. In 2003 he took part in the Akaba summit, just west of Eilat.

US President George Bush and wife Laura during a meeting with former Israeli President Ezer Weitzman at his residence in Jerusalem, Dec 25 1998.
Flash 90

Some critics of US President Bush blasted him before the Annapolis conference, for not having visited the region he was so concerned about in the years since taking office.

'We will use our prowess to help you'
In the recent summit at Annapolis, Maryland, Israel and the PA agreed to hold intensive negotiations with the aim of reaching an accord by the end of Bush's second term, in late 2008. In his speech wrapping up the summit, Bush said that while the events of the peace conference were significant, they were "not nearly as important as tomorrow and the days beyond."

"The US will be actively engaged in the process," Bush told the two leaders who stood by his side. "We will use our prowess to help you," he promised.