The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, will visit Israel later today to try to further boost the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
Ms Rice will travel to Israel from Turkey as part of her seven day tour of Europe and the Middle East.
She will hold talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, before meeting Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank tomorrow.
On her first visit to the Middle East since her recent appointment, Dr Rice has urged Israel to make 'hard decisions' to advance the peace process and help the emergence of a Palestinian state.
She sounded warning notes for Iran and Syria in interviews at the start of her visit.
She said the potential of nuclear weapons in Iran was clearly a problem for the international system and that it was time for the Syrians to stop supporting terror and interfering in Lebanon.
Her arrival in the region comes two days before Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas are due to hold talks in Egypt - the highest-level meeting between the two sides for four years.
