The aim of Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's two-day trip is to jumpstart the dormant peace process. On Monday, he is to hold talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Jerusalem. He will also visit Lebanon and Syria.

Steinmeier has been among world leaders who have criticized Israeli settlement building programs in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Thus far, Netanyahu's government had refused to freeze settlement activities and had not agreed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

However, on Sunday, Netanyahu referred for the first time to a "two-state solution" to bring peace to the Middle East.

"We have achieved a national agreement on the formula of two states for two peoples," the Israeli prime minister said during the weekly cabinet meeting.

Steinmeier is expected to pay a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on Monday.

Media reports said that a meeting planned with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah was not likely to take place, because Abbas is visiting Jordan for talks on forming a Palestinian unity government with the rival Hamas movement.

Support for US efforts

It will be Steinmeier's 14th trip to the region since becoming Germany's foreign minister in 2005. It involves an exacting schedule, covering nearly 6,500 kilometers and four countries in just 36 hours.

The whirlwind tour of the Middle East is meant to lend impetus to Germany's desire for peace in the region as soon as possible, according to a foreign ministry spokesman in Berlin.

"We have had new momentum in the Middle East peace process since the new government took office in Washington and we support its fresh efforts to reach a two-state solution and a return to negotiations," said Andreas Peschke ahead of Steinmeier's trip.

Peschke added that Berlin was pursuing a Middle East policy focused on practical assistance on the ground, including development assistance for the Palestinians and training for security forces in the territories to help prepare for eventual statehood. During his visit to the West Bank on Monday, Steinmeier will assess the progress of such projects.

The foreign ministry spokesman said that Germany's engagement in the region was determined in consultation with its European partners and the government of US President Barack Obama. The new administration in Washington consulted Berlin in the conceptual stages of the reorientation of its Middle East policy.

In a further reflection of the ongoing efforts to harmonize international peace efforts in the region, Steinmeier held intensive discussions via telephone with his American counterpart Hillary Clinton and the US the Middle East Mediator George Mitchell, prior to his Middle East trip.

Neighbors have crucial role

German officials said Steinmeier hoped to persuade neighboring Arab states to play a more active role in diplomatic efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Acknowledging the crucial role of the neighbors in any peace process, foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said that Germany saw several rays of hope in the region, including last month's peaceful elections in Lebanon and improved relations between Lebanon and Syria. He added that all these factors presented a "window of opportunity."

In light of these developments, Steinmeier will also travel to Damascus for talks with his Syrian counterpart Wali al-Muallem and President Bashar al-Assad.

In the past, Steinmeier, who is set to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in September's general election, faced criticism from the chancellery and the US administration for his efforts to engage Syria.

However, the Obama administration has dramatically softened Washington's stance towards Damascus. And this week, the US announced that it would send an ambassador back to Damascus after a four-year gap. The move comes amid a region-wide campaign to lay the groundwork for Middle East peace. In response, President Assad invited Obama to visit Syria.

When he travels to the Lebanese capital Beirut, Steinmeier will become the first western politician to meet prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, the son of former premier Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a bomb blast in 2005. Hariri's pro-western alliance won last month's general elections.

Some observers say Germany is aware that it does not have the influence to broker Middle East peace on its own, but that Steinmeier clearly wants to be part of the Obama administration's efforts in that direction.

Issue on G8 agenda

The trip comes ahead of next week's G8 summit in Italy. Chancellor Merkel indicated last week that the Middle East conflict would figure prominently in those talks. She said "concessions from all sides were necessary," for the peace process to succeed.

Calling for a halt to the construction of Israeli settlements, Merkel said "there has to be a freeze. Otherwise I am convinced we will not achieve the two-state solution that we urgently need - a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state that can live in security."

glb/rb/dpa/AFP
Editor: Michael Lawton