Bush names general to monitor Mideast "road map"

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush has named Lt. Gen. William Fraser to monitor Israeli and Palestinian implementation of the long-stalled "road map" peace plan, the White House said on Thursday.

The road map, which underpins Bush's renewed push for an agreement to create a Palestinian state, calls on Israel to halt all settlement activity and for the Palestinians to rein in militants.

Fraser, who has served as assistant to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was asked by Bush to "serve as the head of the monitoring mechanism for ensuring implementation of the road map", said Stephen Hadley, the White House national security adviser.

"This is another prodding agent, if you will, on the ground," Hadley said.

At a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah earlier in the day, Bush said: "We have agreed to a trilateral process and want to help the Israelis and the Palestinians resolve their differences over road map issues."

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Jon Boyle)