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Israeli Leader's Upcoming U.S. Trip Loses Steam
(Los Angeles Times) Edmund Sanders and Paul Richter - As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to embark on a U.S. trip his aides once said would include a "historic" announcement designed to jump-start the Middle East peace process, there's a growing consensus that neither Israel nor Washington is ready to make any bold moves after all. Some of the pressure Israel was facing from the U.S. and Europe has been at least temporarily lifted by the international unease over a May 4 reconciliation deal between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas. The Obama administration has also shelved, for now, the idea of laying out any of its own prescriptions for restarting the peace talks. The administration was deeply split on whether to offer an "Obama plan," with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, departing Middle East special envoy George Mitchell and some aides in the National Security Council arguing for it. The skeptics included White House Middle East advisor Dennis Ross.