WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will visit Israel, the West Bank, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East from Jan. 8-16 in a trip aimed at advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the White House said on Tuesday.

Bush's trip, which will also include visits to Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt, follows a U.S.-hosted conference last month in which Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged to try to forge a peace agreement by the end of 2008. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by David Alexander)

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