JERUSALEM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The American envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell arrived in Israel Wednesday evening for the first peace mission since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in March.

    Mitchell met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in his Tel Aviv home upon arrival from Tunisia, Israel Radio reported.

    The envoy is scheduled to hold meetings with the hawkish leader of the Jewish state Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the opposition leader and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Israeli President Shimon Peres as well.

    Though repeatedly pledging to continue peace talks with the Palestinians, Netanyahu did not officially endorsed the two-state solution, which U.S. President Barack Obama underlined as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    Mitchell's current trip is widely expected to be a start of potential turbulence between the two allies.

    On Friday, Mitchell is expected to meet Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

    During previous visits to the region in January and February, Mitchell stressed that Washington was committed to both Israel's security and the establishment of a Palestinian state.