JERUSALEM?Israelis and Palestinians readied themselves Tuesday for talks with a new U.S. Mideast envoy, a tough retired Marine Corps general expected to press the two sides to stop 14 months of fighting.

Anthony Zinni is to arrive with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns at the beginning of next week, Israeli and Palestinian officials said, seeking to end the violence that has resisted successive U.S. cease-fire efforts.

A career military man, Zinni, 58, could press his advantage to talk strategy with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who also is a retired general.

Zinni can also speak to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Arabic.

Zinni traveled in the Middle East and studied Arabic during four years as the top U.S. military commander in the area in the 1990s.

He has also dealt with international disputes like the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict.