Clinton takes on Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy

By Sue Pleming

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dives into two days of Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy Tuesday, hoping to shore up a cease-fire in Gaza and vowing to work for a peace deal that eluded her husband.

"This is a very difficult and complex set of issues," Clinton said before her arrival late Monday in Jerusalem.

Peace talks brokered by Bill Clinton broke down in 2000, his final year as U.S. president, and a new wave of violence swept the region.

The administration of President George W. Bush was criticized for making efforts in Arab-Israeli peacemaking too late. President Barack Obama has said it will be a priority and Clinton said she would push on "many fronts" early on.

"I feel passionately about this. This is something that is in my heart, not just in my portfolio," she said after an international donors' conference in Egypt where the United States pledged $900 million for Gaza and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

"I know that it can be done," she said.

In Jerusalem, Clinton will meet key political players including President Shimon Peres as well as hawkish prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, who is trying to put together a government after the February 10 Israeli election.

Netanyahu has abandoned efforts to form a coalition government with Tzipi Livni, the outgoing foreign minister who led the Israeli team in recent Palestinian negotiations and is also set to see Clinton.