Rice heads to Middle East

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is making another stab at cobbling together an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord.

Rice was heading to the Middle East late Wednesday as part of the U.S. administration's goal to see a peace agreement worked out before President George Bush leaves office in January, the Voice of America reported. The two sides had agreed at a conference in Annapolis, Md., last year that they would attempt to meet that deadline.

Rice is to talk to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni Thursday in Tel Aviv -- her 24th visit to Israel -- and to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank Friday, VOA said.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the upcoming Israeli election "greatly complicates the ability to conclude an agreement."

"So our focus is going to be on moving the process forward as far as it can be moved forward in a responsible way while preserving the process," he said.

McCormack downplayed published reports in Israel that Rice will present a U.S. document aimed at trying to move the process along.

Rice also will meet with other Israeli leaders and then make a brief stop in Jordan to meet King Abdullah before moving on to Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, for a Middle East Quartet meeting Sunday that also will include representatives of the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

McCormack said Rice will likely make at least one more trip to the region before leaving office in January.