US envoy returning to the Middle East for second mission
US envoy Anthony Zinni is returning to the Middle East for a second mission aimed at reaching an Israeli-Palestinian truce and relaunching peace talks.
Palestinian officials say Zinni will arrive in the region later this week.
He broke off his first mission in mid-December, amid a sharp escalation of violence.
At the time, US officials criticised Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for not doing enough to prevent attacks by Palestinian militants on Israeli civilians.
Since then, Arafat has renewed his call for a truce and has arrested scores of members of the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups.
However, Israel's government has said Arafat needs to do more before peace talks can resume.
