U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit the Middle East later this week, in a new bid to push forward the staggering Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

U.S. State Department announced Thursday that Rice would travel to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt from Nov.5 to 9, marking her 19th visit to the region in two years, and her eighth since Annapolis peace conference last November.

"She will meet her Quartet counterparts and senior government officials to discuss efforts to achieve positive and lasting peace in the region, consistent with the Annapolis process and the shared goal of a two-state solution," said State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood.

Under the U.S. pressure, Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed last November at the U.S.-hosted international conference, held in Maryland's Annapolis, to relaunch the stalled peace talks aimed to hammer out a comprehensive peace treaty before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January.

On Sunday, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported that Rice will arrive in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh this weekend after talks in Jordan, Israel and with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), in what is likely to be her last visit to the region as U.S. secretary of state.

Representatives of the Quartet, namely the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, will gather in the resort to assess how much progress has been made on the Palestinian track in the year since the launch of the Annapolis process.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who also heads the Israeli negotiating team with the Palestinians, will attend the upcoming gathering, said the report, adding that chief Palestinian negotiator, former PNA Prime minister Ahmed Qurei, will also attend.

Since Annapolis, the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have made little substantial progress due to deep rifts on sensitive issues.

Rice, however, said in mid-October that she will continue to pursue a Middle East peace deal before the end of this year.

"It is very difficult, there's a hard road ahead, but if we do not try, we almost certainly will not succeed," said Rice during an address to a Palestinian investment forum at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington.

"Until that moment when I leave office, I will leave no stone unturned to see if we can finally resolve this conflict," said Rice, urging both Israel and the Palestinian side to "redouble efforts" to achieve the peace deal.

Peace talks likely to go nowhere

Despite Rice's repeated commitment and consistent efforts, her upcoming visit could hardly lead to a breakthrough in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process before the looming Annapolis deadline.

One main reason is the lingering political instability in Israel. With its ruling Kadima party leader Livni's failure to form a new coalition in October, the Jewish state is now most likely to plunge into another three-month political chaos till early general elections.

On Oct. 30, Israeli Knesset (parliament) Speaker Dalia Itzik announced that the final date for the early general elections is set for Feb. 10.

The lingering political instability, together with the continuing absence of a functioning government, has stirred up widespread worries that the last drop of hope would be wiped away for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal within this year.

Israel's political parties are now busy preparing for the general elections. Under this circumstance, little room will be left for the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, let alone achieving significant progress.

Palestinian officials have complained that Israel's political turmoil marks a major blockade along the already sluggish peace process, and has been hampering serious efforts to bridge the gaps on borders, settlements, the status of Jerusalem and other key issues.

On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ruled out the possibility of clinching a peace pact with Israel within 2008.

"Frankly speaking, there will be no comprehensive solution before the end of 2008," Abbas said after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman.

Also on Sunday, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat ruled out the continuation of peace talks before a new Israeli government is formed, saying, "I don't think the negotiations can go on during the term of the transitional government in Israel."

Until the formation of a new government, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will remain in power as caretaker premier.

Though Olmert has pledged to push forward the peace process as long as he remains in office and has repeatedly voiced his confidence in the Annapolis goal, his authority on significant diplomatic issues has been questioned.

As the Annapolis goal is drifting further out of reach, the peace prospect after Israel's snap election also appears elusive, with recent polls indicating a close match between Kadima and the current main opposition party Likud.

Meanwhile, even the winning party is unlikely to fully carry out its policies, since it seems certain that it will have to rule in the form of a coalition.

However, a victory of the right-wing Likud is expected to draw an even darker picture of the already frustrating peace process, as its leader, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized many of the concessions Olmert and Livni have made in the talks with the Palestinians.

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2008)