U.S. President Barack Obama's three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories will begin on March 20. Israeli media reports and a Palestinian official have said that it will run from March 20-22 and take in talks with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah.

According to the official Israeli program released by Prime Minister Netanyahu's office, Obama’s visit will include a trip to the Israel Museum, a speech at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem and dinners with Israeli president Shimon Peres and prime minister Netanyahu. He will attend a ceremony at Mount Herzl, where he will lay a wreath on the grave of assassinated former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin before heading to Yad Vashem, Israel’s world-renowned Holocaust museum. Additionally, he will visit the site of a U.S.-funded Iron Dome rocket defense system. He will also travel to Ramallah in the West Bank to meet Palestinian Authority officials.

The president has called this trip a listening opportunity and noted that there will be no big Middle East peace initiative on the table at this particular time. The president and prime minister will focus on three issues: Iran's nuclear program, the conflict in Syria and the diplomatic process with the Palestinians.