Arab League envoys postpone Israel visit

The first visit by Arab League envoys to Israel has been postponed for two weeks, Egyptian and Israeli officials said Tuesday.

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan had been scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other officials on Thursday, but their visit has been delayed until July 25, Olmert's office said.

Olmert said he requested the delay because of scheduling conflicts. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the delay was "due to special considerations of" Olmert.

The visit would be the first to Israel by envoys of the Arab League, which has softened its hardline stance toward Israel in recent months in efforts to counter a growing Islamic fundamentalist influence in the Middle East.

Olmert and the envoys were expected to discuss a revived Arab peace initiative that calls for full Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for the formation of a Palestinian state and an Israeli withdrawal from all lands it captured in 1967.

Israel rejected the plan outright when it was first presented in 2002, but Olmert recently has expressed willingness to discuss it.

Olmert's office said he had requested that the two foreign ministers visit Israel, and then asked that the talks be put off "because of prior commitments." No further details were given.