Will Rice's visit push forward peace talks?

As US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday started her latest Mideast regional tour with the aim to salvage the US-sponsored peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians, it is only understandable that Arab experts and media do not hold high expectations on her visit to achieve tangible results to push forward the stalled Mideast peace process.

Sayed Amin Shalaby, executive director of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, pointed out that Rice's visit to the Middle East region comes amid a "very difficult situation as the Israeli- Palestinian conflicts and attacks are deteriorating the security situation in the Gaza Strip and Israeli cities as well".

"Since the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2007 relaunched the negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, no progress has been achieved in the negotiations between the two sides in the past three months," Shalaby.