Washington  - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will arrive in Israel and the West Bank next week on her first trip to the region aimed at feeling out ways to revive the peace process.

Clinton's trip is not meant to push forward on any new initiatives, but to "take the pulse of the various leaders" about how to advance the peace process and build a lasting ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militants ruling the Gaza Strip, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

"I'm eager to meet with leaders to hear their thoughts about he best way to move forward on seeking peace and security," Clinton told Voice of America before her departure.

Clinton's first stop is in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el- Sheikh to attend an international conference to raise money for rebuilding the Gaza Strip following the Israeli offensive. Clinton is expected to pledge 900 million dollars, but has not confirmed the figure.

"I will be announcing a commitment to a significant aid package, but it will only be spent if we determine that our goals can be furthered rather than undermined or subverted," Clinton said.

Clinton will arrive in the region at an awkward time as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert presides over a caretaker government, while Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud party, tries to form a ruling coalition following February's elections.

Netanyahu has been unwilling to embrace a peace process with the goal of creating a Palestinian state, a key difference with the vision endorsed by Washington and the international community, and his position could undermine any early attempts to get negotiations moving.

At the same time, Palestinian leadership is divided between the Fatah party's control over the West Bank and Hamas's stranglehold on the Gaza Strip. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has resumed efforts to form a unity government and Egyptian mediated negotiations began in Cairo with this week.

A unity government could complicate the US role in the process because Washington refuses to hold dialogue with Hamas, regarded as a terrorist organization that does not accept Israel's right to exist.

Hamas "must renounce violence, recognize Israel, and abide by previous commitments," Clinton said. "Otherwise, I don't think it will result in the kind of positive step forward either for the Palestinian people or as a vehicle for a reinvigorated effort to obtain peace that leads to a Palestinian state."

Even though President Barack Obama has identified a peace deal as a top priority for his administration, Middle East experts have warned against pushing too aggressively for a final settlement. Instead, the United States should work for more modest goals and look to build up the Palestinian government and economy in the West Bank.

"The more useful thing to do is to concentrate on making life better and building institutions in the West Bank," said Elliot Abrams, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in Washington.

"We can come back to the question of statehood," he said.

Obama moved quickly on the Middle East days after taking office, appointing former senator George Mitchell as special envoy to the peace process. Mitchell is currently on his second trip to the region and will meet up with Clinton. (dpa)