US national security advisor to visit Israel

Washington, May 7 (IANS) US National Security Advisor Susan Rice will travel to Israel for bilateral meetings slated for Wednesday and Thursday, the White House said Tuesday.

Rice, in her first visit to Israel as President Barack Obama's top advisor, will lead an interagency delegation to the US- Israel Consultative Group meetings, with senior officials from the Departments of State, defence, treasury and the intelligence community, Xinhua reported.

The consultative group meets regularly for "strategic" interagency consultations over a wide range of bilateral and regional security issues, National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.

Rice will also meet with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hayden said.

The administration said peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which have broken down due to what Washington called unilateral steps taken by the parties, will not be on Rice's agenda during her stay in Israel.