German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier is prepared to visit the Middle East in a renewed diplomatic effort to end the escalating crisis in the region, local media reported Monday.

Steinmeier will leave Berlin Tuesday for Lebanon, Israel and very likely the Palestinian territories as he did on a visit last month, Deutsche Presse-Agentur said in a report.

The minister will call on all sides involved to agree on a UN Security Council peace resolution which Lebanon, Syria and other Arab nations have so far rejected.

Steinmeier was expected to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Tuesday before flying to Jerusalem for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday. He will also meet in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had held a lengthy telephone call with Siniora and both had called for the rapid passage of the UN resolution, said Thomas Steg, Merkel's spokesman on Monday.

Berlin believed the resolution was the start of a process that might lead to a permanent end to the conflict, said Steg.

As world powers are struggling to agree on a UN resolution, Israel is pressing ahead with its offensive and the number of casualties from both sides keeps rising.

Hezbollah says it will fight on until Israel stops bombing Lebanon and pulls out its forces.

Source: Xinhua