President Obama will travel to Israel next month, the White House confirmed Tuesday. According to Israeli media Obama is scheduled to arrive March 20.

White House officials would not confirm the date. But Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council, said Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a possible visit in a phone call last month. It will be Obama’s first trip to Israel as president, and comes as Israeli and Palestinian leaders are at odds over how to restart peace negotiations that have been dormant for more than two years.

Netanyahu’s office said that he and Obama “spoke about a visit by the President to Israel after a new government is formed in Israel, and the two agreed that such a visit would be an important opportunity to emphasize the friendship and strong partnership between Israel and the United States.”

Netanyahu’s Likud Party emerged from the recent national elections as the largest bloc in Israel’s parliament, meaning he will serve another term as prime minister. But a surprisingly strong showing by a new centrist party that – at least in principle – supports the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel has revived hopes for fresh negotiations and will likely put more pressure on Netanyahu to pursue such talks.

washingtonpost.com