Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaves Washington Tuesday for another round of talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, leading up to a U.S.-hosted regional conference planned for November. A senior Rice aide says it is a very important moment for efforts to revive the Middle East peace process.

Islamist movement Hamas said the U.S.-proposed Middle East peace conference would inevitably fail unless national unity was restored in the Palestinian territories.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders have held a summit meeting in a bid to push the peace process forward. But while there are signs of progress, deep divisions remain.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to set up joint negotiating teams to resolve key points of contention in the lead-up to a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in November.

A Middle East peace conference proposed by U.S. President George Bush will require serious preparation and evenhandedness if it is to be effective in reconciling the region's many clashing interests, the head of the Arab League said Thursday.

Israeli President Shimon Peres met with Pope Benedict XVI during the visit to Italy amid an international push for peace in the Middle East.

Expectations are low for a Middle East peace agreement despite progress reported at a summit meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, suspicions run deep on both sides.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Palestinian leaders Thursday on the final day of her Middle East tour aimed at gaining support for a U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference later this year.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will begin laying the ground for a Mideast peace conference in a visit to Israel on Wednesday, hoping to push Israelis and Palestinians closer to renewing talks.

Saudi Arabia has given its support to a Middle East peace conference proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush. Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal today said Saudi Arabia welcomes the initiative, adding that there is international momentum toward peace in the Middle East, and that Israel should respond to those pressures.

Tony Blair, the special envoy of the international Quartet of Mideast mediators said Tuesday progress was possible in the region.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair began his first trip to the Middle East as special envoy for the peace Quartet with a visit to Jordan. After talks Monday, in Amman with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah Khatib on reactivating the peace process, Blair was scheduled to fly to Israel.