(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-10 23:29

JERUSALEM -- US President George W. Bush, visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories, has named US air force Lt. Gen. William Fraser as his envoy to supervise the implementation of the so-called Roadmap peace plan, a White House spokesman said Thursday.

Fraser, assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is currently travelling with Bush, will be tasked with monitoring commitments and progress by Israel and the Palestinians in the peace process, the spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters.

The Roadmap plan, known for its vision of two-state solution, was declared in 2002 by Bush who called for creating a viable and democratic Palestinian statehood alongside Israel which should be secured. But efforts to carry out the plan have led to nowhere since then.

Bush, who arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday noon to start an eight-day regional tour, is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories for the first time since he took office in 2000.

His visit was partly aimed at advancing the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in the wake of the Annapolis peace conference in November last year.

At the peace conference, Israel and the Palestinians had pledged to strive for a final-status agreement before the end of 2008. But talks between the two sides have been low-key with no tangible progress.