News Brief07:20 AM

(IsraelNN.com) American President George W. Bush will take a "hands-on" approach in talks between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel, American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told USA Today. "He very much wants to signal support for the bilateral process between the parties and to continue in a hands-on way to encourage them to move forward," she said.

President Bush is expected to visit Israel in the second week of January, but officials have not released an itinerary and it is not known if he will visit the PA in Ramallah.

He is under growing criticism for remaining distant from negotiations towards the establishment of a new Arab state within Israel's current borders. He previously has said he did not want to follow the policy of his predecessor Bill Clinton, who directly negotiated the Oslo Accords that eventually blew up into the Oslo War in 2000. President Bush also is anxious that Israel and the PA reach final agreement, at least on paper, before his term of office ends in January, 2008.