Obama to Meet Netanyahu, Mubarak, ‘Abbas by June

The White House has announced that President Obama will separately invite Binyamin Netanyahu, Husni Mubarak and Mahmud ‘Abbas to Washington soon, most likely prior to the first week in June.

This clearly is yet another signal that the US wants to move forward on the Israeli-Palestinian track. It also comes after a game of diplomatic chicken in which Netanyahu planned to come to Washington for an AIPAC gathering in May, but then was "rethinking" the visit when the White House signaled Obama would be out of town at that time. By inviting Netanyahu when Obama finds it convenient, the White House may be signalling that it plans to control the timing of the meeting, not yield that timing to Israel.

Since I believe the King of Jordan is already scheduled for a visit, the President should have multiple opportunities to familiarize himself with the issue.