Hillary Clinton visits Israel

Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel for a 24-hour visit at the tail end of an eight-nation tour spanning Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Clinton arrived on a flight from Egypt shortly after 11.30 pm local time (0630 AEST) for her first visit to the Jewish state in nearly two years, according to an AFP correspondent travelling with the delegation.

With her are US Middle East envoy David Hale and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, who represents Washington at talks between world powers and Iran.

The 24-hour visit comes at the tail end of an eight-nation tour spanning Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Clinton has scheduled meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

She will also meet Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, a senior official said. Earlier this month, she held talks in Paris with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Talks with the Israelis were expected to take the form of a 'strategic conversation' in the wake of the political upheaval in the region and what it means for both the United States and Israel, a senior State Department official said.

They were also likely to focus on efforts to regenerate peace negotiations.

'Obviously, every day that goes by where there is not a peace agreement is a day that leaves us unsatisfied,' he told reporters.

The last time Clinton visited Jerusalem was in 2010 to help the parties resolve a dispute over the building of Jewish settlements.

The dispute over settlements proved to be the undoing of the fledgling negotiations. Talks have been stalled for nearly two years.