Clinton to visit Israel to revive peace

JERUSALEM, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due in Israel Sunday to try to advance peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, officials said.

Clinton's arrival follows the visit of U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, who met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak Thursday night and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Friday, Haaretz said.

Mitchell will travel to Abu Dhabi and join Clinton in a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas before she travels to Israel, the newspaper said.

Clinton will also focus on Netanyahu's planned trip to Washington in 1 1/2 weeks and his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Maariv said. The visit has yet to be finalized, the newspaper added.

Israeli officials doubted Clinton's visit will lead to a breakthrough, Maariv said.

Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post it was unclear whether Abbas is interested in resuming negotiations. The Palestinian leader may opt to take advantage of the atmosphere created by the Goldstone commission report that accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza, and wait until the United States and the international community begins pressuring Israel, the officials said.

Abbas demands a total settlement freeze in the West Bank as a condition to the renewal of negotiations while Netanyahu has agreed only to a temporary freeze on new housing starts, excluding Jerusalem and the 3,000 currently under construction, the Post said.