The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan are expected to lead an Arab League mission to Israel this week for talks on a pan-Arab peace initiative, the first visit to Israel by an official delegation from the 22-member organization, Israeli officials said.

The visit would mark an important diplomatic accomplishment for Israel, since the Arab League historically has been hostile toward it. But the league has grown increasingly conciliatory amid the rise of Islamic extremism throughout the region - a concern underscored by Hamas' recent takeover of the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli official said Sunday that Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit were expected in Jerusalem within a few days for talks on the Arab peace proposal and how to support Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas.

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Israel's Maariv daily said the Arab ministers would arrive on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Aboul Gheit said last week he would visit Israel after he meets U.S. officials in Washington this week.

The Arab peace plan proposes full Arab recognition of Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal from lands it captured in the 1967 Six Day War. It was originally launched in Saudi Arabia in 2002 and revived at an Arab League summit in Riyadh in March this year.

Israel has welcomed the plan in principle, but says some aspects, such as an apparent call for resettling Palestinian refugees in Israel, are unacceptable.

The foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt, whose countries have peace agreements with Israel, have been designated as the league's official point men on the initiative.

Livni met them in Cairo in May for the first official, public talks between Israel and the Arab League, an organization that suspended Egypt for 10 years after its 1979 peace accord with Israel.

This is the first time the Arab League is coming to Israel, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. From its inception the Arab League has been hostile to Israel, it will the first time we'll be flying the Arab League flag.

The planned visit is part of a renewed push by several Arab countries and the West for Israeli-Palestinian peace discussions following last month's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas, listed as a terrorist group by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union.

The Gaza rout prompted Abbas to evict Hamas from the Hamas-Fatah coalition government and to set up a new Fatah-led Cabinet in the West Bank headed by Salam Fayad.

Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, along with much of the West, have welcomed the new government and have moved to isolate Hamas, which refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel.

Regev said renewed relations with the Palestinian government following the shakeup and the linkage to a broader Middle East settlement would be at the heart of discussions with the Arab League envoys.

"They will be talking about how the Arab peace proposal can help energize the rapprochement between Israel and the Palestinians," he said.

Last month, Egypt hosted a summit of the Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders to show support for Abbas and to discuss the resumption of peace talks.

At that meeting Olmert pledged to free 250 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, transfer frozen Palestinian tax revenues to Abbas and to ease travel restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel has since handed over more than $100 million in withheld funds and on Sunday the Cabinet formally approved the prisoner release. Olmert and Abbas are expected to meet again soon.

At Sunday's Cabinet session Livni told ministers that a closer dialogue with the Arab states would feed into efforts to support Abbas.

"It is possible and necessary to enlist the Arab world by presenting an option that would strengthen the Palestinian government," a Foreign Ministry statement quoted her as saying.