Top US Middle East peace envoys Dennis Ross and Aaron Miller are expected to accompany First Lady Hillary Clinton to the funeral this week of Leah Rabin, widow of slain Israeli premier Yitzhak Rabin, a State Department official said Monday.
"The plan is for them to be part of the official delegation for the service," the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that a formal announcement about whom the United States would send to Wednesday's funeral was expected shortly.
The official could not say whether either Ross, the longtime Special Middle East Coordinator, or Miller, his deputy, would remain in the region for talks with officials after the funeral for Rabin who died Sunday of cancer at the age of 72.
"I wouldn't rule it out, but I can't say because the schedule isn't set yet," the official said.
Neither Ross nor Miller has traveled to Israel or the Palestinian territories the Middle East since the current round of violence began in late September.
However, both have been involved in efforts to calm the violence and restart the peace process including last month's Sharm el-Sheikh summit and separate White House meetings last week and Sunday between President Bill Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
