The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, arrives in Israel today hoping to rekindle the peace process.
Mr Cowen is representing the EU, which is a member of the quartet behind the "roadmap" to peace along with the United States, Russia and the UN.
Mr Cowen will meet Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, and his counterpart at the foreign ministry, Mr Silvan Shalom, as well as opposition leader Mr Shimon Peres, before travelling to Egypt.
Last night, Mr Cowen condemned yesterday's attack in which a woman suicide bomber killed herself and four Israelis at a border crossing on the Gaza Strip
He said in a statement: "It [the bombing] has interrupted an extensive, although incomplete, cessation of violence which has been in place for a number of weeks. Such attacks do nothing whatsoever to advance the Palestinian cause."