U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh late Sunday to attend an international donor conference for Gaza reconstruction.
This is Clinton's first trip to the Middle East as the secretary of state, during which she will visit Israel and meet with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank after the Gaza aid conference to be opened in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday.
It was reported that Clinton is expected to announce a U.S. donation of up to 900 million U.S. dollars for the Palestinians in their Gaza reconstruction.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said earlier that Clinton will meet with Abbas right after the Sharm el-Sheikh donors conference.
"The talks with Clinton would tackle the program of the Israeli government," Erekat said, adding if the Israeli government will not be committed to the Palestinian demands, "it will not be considered as a peace partner. This is what we will ask from the new American Administration."
(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2009)