Palestinian officials cited by The Jerusalem Post on Monday expressed disappointment over the news that Mr. Bush will not pay his respects to deceased Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during the upcoming visit.

All foreign leaders who have visited the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah have laid a wreath at Arafat's tomb since the arch-terrorist's death in 2004. The US Consulate General's office in Jerusalem told the Post that Bush would not be following that tradition.

Despite making Middle East peacemaking a central focal point of his presidency, Bush for years refused to invite Arafat to the White House, and even publicly recognized him as a hindrance to peace.