US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to travel to the Middle East next week to try to revive peace moves between Israel and the Palestinians.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is travelling to the Middle East, in an effort to revive the peace process.
A spokesman said she would leave on Sunday to visit Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Ms Rice is to visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Meanwhile, Israel's PM says he hopes to meet the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, for a summit within days.
It is her first visit to the region since the end of the month-long conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants in August.
The secretary of state was widely criticised for failing to call for an immediate end to the fighting.
BBC state department correspondent Jonathan Beale says President George W Bush wants to show that even if America's image is tarnished in the region, it is still actively engaged in bringing about a lasting peace.
President Bush may want to revive the peace process, but it is hard to see how Rice courts moderate Arabs
Ms Rice will focus her efforts on talking to what the Bush administration terms "the voices of Muslim moderation" our correspondent adds.
A spokesman said she would discuss the threats to stability from Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.
On Friday Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he hoped to meet the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, for a summit within days.
It would be their first formal summit since Mr Olmert took over as Israeli leader from Ariel Sharon in January.
It would be their first formal summit since Mr Olmert took over as Israeli leader from Ariel Sharon in January.
In the same month, the militant movement Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, won Palestinian parliamentary elections and Israel froze contacts.
In the same month, the militant movement Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, won Palestinian parliamentary elections and Israel froze contacts.
Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas last met at an informal meeting in June.
Days after the meeting, Israel launched a major military offensive in Gaza following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants.
Ms Rice last visited the region in July, during the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
'No pre-conditions'
Mr Olmert has ruled out goodwill measures such as releasing Palestinian detainees until the soldier held in Gaza, Gilad Shalit, is released.
We have decided that on this subject, I am going to deliver a denial, but you don't have to believe it Ehud OlmertOn holding talks with the Saudis However, Palestinian officials say Mr Abbas is not interested in holding a summit unless he has assurances it would deal with more than the fate of Cpl Shalit.
"I hope to meet him within the coming days," Mr Olmert said.
"I do not set any conditions but do not accept that conditions are imposed on me."
Following the recent conflict in Lebanon, Mr Olmert came under intense domestic pressure for his handling of the crisis, and international pressure to return to negotiations on the core Palestinian issue.
'Muslim support'
Also in the interviews, Mr Olmert ruled out holding talks with Syria, which he accused of being "the main sponsor of Palestinian terrorist groups".
Syria says it wants negotiations with Israel to return the Golan Heights, which Israeli forces occupied in the 1967 war.
But Mr Olmert said the conflict in Lebanon had created new momentum in relations between Israel and Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
"During the war, we fought against Muslims, and Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Abu Dhabi and other governments, including Indonesia, talked - in the context of this war - against the Muslims and not against us," he said.
Some Sunni Muslim nations initially criticised Hezbollah for its capture of two Israeli soldiers, although they also condemned Israel's bombardment which caused hundreds of civilian casualties in Lebanon.
The Israeli prime minister remained evasive about reports that he had met secretly with a senior member of the Saudi ruling family - something Riyadh has strenuously denied.
"We have decided that on this subject, I am going to deliver a denial, but you don't have to believe it," Mr Olmert said.
"On other matters, believe all my denials," he added.
