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Rice optimistic about peace deal
Olmert to meet Abbas today
Ramallah—The year-end goal for an
Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is still achievable, Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday, even as both sides questioned
whether such a goal is realistic.
Speaking at a news conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah,
Rice also urged Israel not to prejudice a final deal a reference to
continued Israeli settlement activity. In unusually pointed
criticism, Rice suggested the Israeli government could do more to
improve life for West Bank residents.
Rice arrived in the region late Saturday in her latest mission to
advance the troubled talks.
Washington has been pushing for a resolution of the decades-old
Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the end of President Bush’s tenure
next January.
But Palestinians say Israel is undermining peace moves through its
continued settlement activity, a far-flung network of Israeli travel
barriers in the West Bank and continued Israeli arrest raids in
areas nominally under the control of Palestinian control.
Israel maintains the Palestinians cannot be relied on to provide
adequate security. Both sides have expressed skepticism about
reaching a deal by the end of the year.
For all the problems, Rice said in Ramallah, “We continue to believe
it is an achievable goal to have an agreement between the
Palestinians and the Israelis by the end of the year.”
A major bone of contention has been the hundreds of Israeli
roadblocks in the West Bank that cripple travel and hurt the
Palestinian economy. Israel says the travel restrictions are needed
to protect their settlements and prevent militants from entering
Israel.
Some of the roadblocks are no more than dirt mounds, while others
are full-fledged military checkpoints. Rice told reporters that
removing them is not just an issue of numbers.
“We are trying to look not just at quantity but also quality of
improvements,” she said, adding that she has held “extensive
discussions” with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on the matter.
Barak has to authorize any roadblock removals. After nearly a year
as defence minister, the skein of roadblocks remains barely changed.
After a White House meeting last month, Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas was critical of the U.S. for not pushing Israel harder
to create conditions that he thinks are more conducive to
peacemaking. But on Sunday, he praised the U.S. involvement and said
failure is not an option.
“We want to achieve success, and we need to reach a comprehensive
agreement,” he said. “If we don’t reach an agreement, we have to
think about what the next step will be. Now, let’s not think about
failure.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he will meet
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas today (Monday). Abbas visited
Washington last week and has complained that months of
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have yielded no progress.—AP
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