Asked whether the cancellation was due to political reasons related to Israel s use of force to crack down on Palestinian protesters recently in Gaza Grivaux said "these are domestic reasons " Xinhua news agency reported.
At a weekly briefing following cabinet meeting the government s spokesman added: "There is an extremely busy political agenda with a daily follow-up of the SNCF (train strike) issue and the follow-up of ongoing operations in Notre Dame des Landes " which according to him "requires vigilance and the presence of the prime minister on national territory."
Philippe had previously planned a two-day visit to Israel and Palestinian territories on May 31.
--IANS ahm/vd
