Defense Sec. Rumsfeld cancels Israel visit due to Gaza fighting

July 8, 2006

By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has canceled a planned trip to Israel scheduled for next week.

Israeli government sources say the cancellation reflects Rumsfeld`s wish to distance himself from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Rumsfeld has never visited Israel while Defense Secretary.

The visit was intended to reinforce security relations between the United States and Israel, strained after a conflict erupted between the two governments over Israeli arms sales to China.

Rumsfeld was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz.

Two leading U.S. foreign policy officials are expected to visit Israel this week. David Welch, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and Elliott Abrams, deputy national security adviser to President George W. Bush, will arrive in Jerusalem on Thursday for meetings with government officials.