U.S. State Dept.: Mideast envoy Mitchell to visit region to listen, assess situation

U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood held a briefing Monday ahead of George Mitchell's first visit to the Middle East in his new capacity as U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy to the region. Mitchell is expected to visit Israel, Egypt, the West Bank, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

He is coming to listen to regional leaders, Wood told reporters ahead of Mitchell's expected trip to the region Wednesday. He wants to begin working. He will assess the situation and report his conclusions to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Wood added.

The spokesman stressed that Mitchell does not intend to visit Syria, nor does he plan to speak with Hamas, not even indirectly via Egypt. He added that the new U.S. administration seeks to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians in an active and aggressive manner, to promote a system to prevent arms smuggling and to resolve the humanitarian issues facing Gazans.

Meanwhile Monday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that Obama could use Israel's success in its recent offensive against Hamas to change the reality in the Middle East.

"The IDF operation in Gaza can and must serve as a turning point, not only restoring calm to the residents of the south, but also strengthening the regional processes which both Israel and the U.S. seek to advance," Livni told James Cunningham, the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Israel killed about 500 Hamas militants and hundreds of other gunmen, the Israel Defense Forces says, during the 22-day campaign in Gaza that ended Jan. 17. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights says the operation killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians.

In the meeting with Cunningham, Livni added: "The operation created a strategic change in the status of Hamas and the extremist forces, and can serve as a stimulus for the new [U.S.] administration and the international community to change the reality."

She said that Israel made it clear that "we will not return to the status quo which prevailed prior to the IDF operation, and that we must take advantage of Hamas's weakness and work together to create opportunities that will strengthen the moderate forces in the region."

A Foreign Ministry official said Saturday that Mitchell will arrive on Wednesday for a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority for talks on boosting a Gaza cease-fire and reviving negotiations. This signals the new U.S. administration's first direct foray in peace efforts.

Mitchell is expected to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as well as with candidates for prime minister, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Likud chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu.