World IN BRIEF : ISRAEL : Levy to Visit U.S. to Explain Stance

Israel said it is sending Foreign Minister David Levy to the United States today to explain the nation’s rejection of an appeal by President Bush to show flexibility in the Middle East peace process. Bush appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir last week to accept a minor U.N. role in proposed Arab-Israeli negotiations and to agree that a conference would reconvene every six months to hear progress reports. But Shamir rejected the plan. In Washington, a State Department spokeswoman said Secretary of State James A. Baker III will meet with Levy.