WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama dispatches his vice president to the Middle East on Sunday to try to build support for reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks despite deep skepticism on both sides.

Joseph Biden will meet Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders starting on Monday, but a main component of his trip will be public diplomacy. That means reassuring anxious Israelis about Obama's commitment to their security while explaining why they should be willing to make concessions for peacemaking.
Biden was not expected to take part in indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks that would be spearheaded by Obama's special envoy, George Mitchell, and could be announced during his visit, although he will be briefed on them.
The vice president, who will be the most senior American official to visit Israel since Obama came to office in January 2009, faces a tough sell, Israeli officials and analysts say.
Many Israelis are distrustful of Obama's outreach to the Muslim world, a priority he highlighted with high-profile visits to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and, later this month, to Indonesia.
U.S.-Israeli tensions flared over Obama's early push for a complete Jewish settlement freeze, although his administration has at least temporarily backed off, embracing a more limited, 10-month moratorium on new building announced in November.
Other differences remain over next steps and the scope of renewed talks with the Palestinians.
U.S. and Israeli officials said the main source of discord on Iran for the time being was over the scope of future sanctions. The Israeli official said Netanyahu, who will meet Biden, was “disappointed” by sanctions proposed thus far by the United States. “This is not what we've been promised,” he said.
Photo: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden (Reuters photo)
-