American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Israel this week will be the 17th time in two years she has visited the region. Expectations are low that she will succeed in her newest bid to forge an agreement by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on the establishment of a new Arab country.
She is expected to meet together with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and senior PA negotiator Ahmed Qureia. American President George W. Bush has said he wants an agreement signed before he leaves office in January. Prime Minister Olmert told a Knesset committee weeks ago that there was "no practical possibility" of reaching an agreement within the time frame set by President Bush.