ISRAEL: Condoleezza Rice arrives in region to prompt Israeli-Palestinian talks

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jerusalem again on Saturday (November 3) for more talks aimed at bridging differences between Palestinian and Israeli leaders ahead of a conference on Palestinian statehood. On her third visit to the region in six weeks, Rice hopes to push both sides to agree on a joint document on statehood to be presented at the meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, officials said. The joint document is intended to lay down the principles by which a Palestinian state can be established. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is heading the Israeli negotiation team with the Palestinians, met Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Jerusalem during a conference on Middle East policy. The "Saban Forum" annual U.S.-Israel dialogue, which brings high-level politicians and academics to discuss Middle East issues, hosted Livni and Fayyad on its opening session. The two shook hands and later set together at a dinner table. Rice will meet on Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who faces stiff opposition within his own coalition to any concessions on borders or a division of Jerusalem. On Monday she will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is under pressure to show his people he can deliver an end to Israeli occupation and can also withstand a challenge to his authority from Hamas Islamists, hostile to Israel, who seized control of the Gaza Strip five months ago. In recent weeks, both sides have stressed their commitment to implementing the first phase of the long-dormant "road map" accords of 2003, which commit Palestinian leaders to suppressing militants and Israel to reining in Jewish settlement.

ITN Source | November 4, 2007

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