Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul left here Sunday for a one-day visit to Israel and Palestine.

Speaking at a news conference upon his departure for Israel, Gul said that he would meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Amir Peretz. He would also have a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah later in the day.

He said that deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon and Palestine-Israeli conflict would be high on the agenda during his visits.

Turkey, a secular Muslim country, has indicated it would contribute troops but wanted to study operational plans for the force and rule of engagement before making any decisions.

"If we decide to contribute to a UN peace force, this will only be for humanitarian purposes," Gul said, adding that the forces to be deployed in Lebanon had no mission to counter Hezbollah.

"Those who are going there (Lebanon) will just preserve peace, and prevent recurrence of new clashes between the two countries," said Gul, who paid a one-day visit to war-torn Lebanon on Wednesday.

Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah ended a 34-day-long fighting on Monday after the UN Security Council adopted a ceasefire resolution, which authorizes an increase of the existing UN force in Lebanon to 15,000 troops to help Lebanon take control of south Lebanon, while Israel withdraws in parallel.

The United Nations has been seeking a balance of European and Muslim troops so that Israel and Lebanon will view the force as legitimate.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, French President Jacques Chirac and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi expressed their expectations during their phone talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday that Turkey should join the UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in south Lebanon.

Erdogan said that his country would decide on whether to contribute to the force after discussions, adding that the decision needs to be approved by the parliament.