Bush Mideast itinerary set

WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- The White House said Monday President Bush will meet with the leaders of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt during a five-day trip to the Middle East next month.

The trip will be the second by Bush this year to the region. He was last there in January.

Bush leaves for Israel May 13 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel and will meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in addition to addressing the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

His next stop is scheduled to be Saudi Arabia and meetings with King Abdallah to mark 75 years of U.S.-Saudi relations. He will wind up his trip with a stop in Egypt and meetings with President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. While in Egypt, he will speak before the World Economic Forum on the Middle East.

Bush met in Washington last week with Abbas, who later said he did not see much hope for progress in establishing an independent Palestinian state. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said, however, there was never any thought last week's talks would produce a breakthrough.