Jerusalem: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Monday in a bid to revive the peace process that has been stalled by violence.
During breakfast talks with Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon, she is expected to push him to do more to improve the daily lives of Palestinians and to meet commitments in the US-sponsored ?road map?, which include a freeze on settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
"Israel should do nothing to try and prejudge final status or the outlines of a final settlement," Rice said.
In a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Rice was expected to pressure him to rein in militants from Hamas.
"You cannot build a democratic state and a foundation for peace when you have organizations that remain armed and constantly reserve the means to destroy that foundation for peace," added Rice.
The US wants both sides to get back on track with the road map for a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
US had hoped there would be agreement on getting better access for goods and people into and out of Gaza by the time Rice visited this week and that an announcement would coincide with her visit.
US Middle East envoy James Wolfensohn, the former head of the World Bank, has been in the region trying to resolve problems at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt but there are still some sticking points.
"We are very close but not quite there yet," said one State Department official of an agreement on the Rafah crossing.
Rice is hoping to build on the momentum from the successful withdrawal from Gaza last September of Israeli troops.
Comments
0 comment