Bush's January Middle East tour seeks to bolster peace bid

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will make his first trip to Israel and the West Bank next month to try to shore up fragile peace efforts despite skepticism about the chances of a deal before he leaves office in 13 months.

Bush will also make stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on his January 8-16 trip to promote broader Arab-Israeli reconciliation after decades of conflict and enmity.

The announcement of his itinerary follows a U.S.-hosted conference last month in Annapolis, Maryland, where Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged to try to forge a peace deal by the end of 2008.

Bush's first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank comes as his room for maneuver is limited by the unpopular Iraq war, now in its fifth year.

His hands-off approach to Middle East peacemaking during almost seven years in office has raised doubts about his newfound commitment. His planned trip to the region appears intended to allay such concerns.

"This visit will follow up on the progress made at Annapolis in helping Israelis and Palestinians to advance their efforts toward peace and achievement of the president's vision of two democratic states living side by side in peace and security," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

But she played down the prospect that Bush, scheduled to meet separately with Olmert and Abbas and not to hold a three-way meeting, would engage in detailed negotiations between the two sides on possible concessions.

She insisted instead that Bush could "help facilitate those discussions."