Sri Lankan president leaves for Middle East

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa left on an official visit to the Middle East on Saturday, the President's office said. The President will be visiting Jordan, Israel and Palestine during the State visit which will be used to boost bilateral ties Sri Lanka has with the Middle East. Rajapaksa's visit to the Middle East also comes ahead of the March UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva where Sri Lanka is expected to be discussed. The first stop for the president will be in Jordan where he will meet with the King of Jordan Abdulla II Ibn Al Hussein. President Rajapaksa will then travel to Palestine for a two-day state visit. There, the president will hold bilateral discussions with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. While in Palestine, President Rajapaksa is also expected to lay a wreath at the mausoleum of former president Yasser Arafat, meet with members of the Sri Lanka Palestine Friendship Association and visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. During his two-day state visit to Israel, President Rajapaksa is expected to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Shimon Peres, the President's office said. Sri Lanka has sought support from its allies, especially in the Middle East and Africa against an attempt to censure the island nation at the UN Human Rights Council in March. The Sri Lankan Government has been accused of failing to prosecute those responsible for alleged war crimes during the final stages of the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels.