Sarkozy in Israel on fence-mending visit

French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Israel on Sunday for a three-day visit aimed at reinforcing his image as an ally of the Jewish state and reversing a trend of difficult trips there by French leaders.

After taking office last year, Sarkozy announced a "break" with the policies of his predecessor Jacques Chirac, seeking to mend ties with Washington damaged by the war in Iraq and repeatedly proclaiming himself a friend of Israel.

His statements of support for the Jewish state contrasted with those of previous presidents from Charles de Gaulle to Francois Mitterrand and Chirac, who were widely viewed as more pro-Arab.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in his welcome speech the visit was a gesture of friendship by a man who understood the challenges faced by Israel and was personally committed to the "security of Israel and to maintaining its qualitative advantage in the region".

Sarkozy, whose grandfather was a Greek Jew, will address Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on Monday, the first French president to do so since Mitterrand in 1982.

While he will want to improve his statesman's credentials at a time when he suffers from poor support at home, Sarkozy will have to avoid alienating Arab leaders invited to the launch of his Mediterranean Union in Paris next month.

Most states that line the Mediterranean have said their leaders will attend the July 13 summit, but it was unclear if those of Algeria and Libya would do so and Algiers says it wants to avoid a "creeping normalisation of relations with Israel".

Any no-shows at the launch of Sarkozy's project to bring together a broad range of peoples would be an embarrassment.

SENSITIVE TRIP

Sources familiar with preparations said Sarkozy's office would have liked Israel to postpone the visit until after the July 13 summit but Israel insisted that it go ahead as planned.

"This is a very sensitive trip which will be watched closely in Israel, by the Palestinians and in the Arab world," a senior French diplomat said of Sarkozy's trip.

Sarkozy said Israel's security depended on the creation of a Palestinian state and he came to support Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abba in their attempts to reach a peace deal.

"An agreement is possible, tomorrow!" Sarkozy said, sounding far more optimistic than most observers, who highlight Olmert's weakness at home and divisions among the Palestinians.

Sarkozy's schedule on the first trip to Israel by a French president in 12 years will include a brief stop in Bethlehem to meet Abbas, and leave little room for mishaps such as those seen in the past.

When Chirac visited Jerusalem's old town in 1996, he lost patience with the Israeli security agents who were pressing him to move on, telling one of them that his treatment was a "provocation" and threatening to get back on his plane.

Mitterrand's speech to the Knesset, which emphasised the Palestinians' right to a state, received a frosty reception, and Palestinians threw stones at Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's convoy in 2000 after he said attacks by Lebanese Hezbollah militants on Israel were terrorist acts.