Outgoing US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell will today try to press Israeli and Palestinian leaders for steps to help Palestinians elect a new president.
Lending weight to his post-reelection pledge to revive a US push for peace, President Bush has sent his top diplomat on his first trip to the region in 18 months.
US officials suggested before Mr Powell's one-day visit that he would lean on Israel to pull back forces from West Bank cities and Palestinian officials to restrain militant groups to restore free movement and calm for the slated January 9th election.
But in remarks en route to the region likely to disappoint the Palestinians, Mr Powell said the two sides should work to create a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza as soon as possible but without a deadline.
Palestinians cite a tattered US-backed peace plan in their demand for adherence to a 2005 target, but Mr Powell dismissed that deadline as a date "we had hoped for in 2002".
Mr Powell will leave office early next year, and his resignation last week has somewhat sapped the strength of his message to the two sides as they will look to see if his nominated successor, Ms Condoleezza Rice, shares his views, political analysts say.