Mbeki to visit Palestine and Israel

President Thabo Mbeki is to visit Palestine and Israel in a bid to promote peace in the volatile Middle East. The President’s plans were made known during a visit by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas this week. After talks with Abbas in Cape Town on Friday, Mbeki cancelled a ministerial mission to Palestine, Syria and Israel scheduled for this week, saying he had instead agreed to go to Palestine himself as soon as possible. Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad confirmed to the Sunday Times that Mbeki would, at the same time as visiting Gaza, take up a standing invitation to visit Israel.