US Vice President Richard Cheney will visit the Middle East for talks with regional leaders later this month, the White House announced early Monday. Cheney will leave on March 16 and will make stops in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Turkey "for discussions with these key partners on issues of mutual interest," the White House statement said.
Cheney's agenda includes talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and prime minister Salam Fayyad. The mission follows a trip to the region by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during which she secured a promise from Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks, despite recent Israeli military strikes into the Gaza Strip.
Violence sharply escalated around Gaza on February 27 after Israel killed five Hamas militants in an air raid and Gaza militants retaliated with a barrage of rocket and mortar fire into the Jewish state.