Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported this evening that President Barack Obama will shorten his visit to the Palestinian Authority territories to just four hours, and may skip Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority government is headquartered, entirely.

Instead Obama will visit Bethlehem, according to an anonymous Palestinian government source who spoke to Ma’an, where he will tour the Church of the Nativity and then meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Obama’s actual schedule remains a topic of speculation. The administration has not released full details of his plans to the public. Preparations being made by Israeli officials have provided solid indications as to the President’s likely itinerary, but those remain subject to change and at least some guesswork.

A visit to Ramallah might be seen as a boost the Palestinian Fatah faction, which controls the West Bank, against its Hamas rivals (there is, after all, a reason that Hamas has blasted the President’s trip and urged Fatah leaders to shun the President). But is likely that security considerations are driving the trip logistics. Officials from both Fatah and Hamas have threatened violence in response to the details and timing of the visit.

[Photo: The White House / Flickr]