Rice urges Israel to halt new settlement
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Israel not to complicate the path to peace with the Palestinians through new Jewish settlements just as the date approaches for Israelis to fulfil a promise to leave other, established settlements.
“We don’t intend that the Israelis try to create facts on the ground,” Rice told reporters travelling on the plane with her to Jerusalem. “They simply cannot engage in activities that are supposed to prejudge” the final terms of a peace settlement.
Palestinians regularly claim that Israel has tried to force territorial concessions by building settlements and outposts on land that would presumably belong to a separate Palestinian homeland one day.
The two sides are currently arguing over whether Israel will build more than 3,000 new homes near Jerusalem.
Rice is visiting the region in part to evaluate plans for a historic Israeli withdrawal from all 21 Jewish settlements on the Gaza Strip and from four of the 120 in the West Bank.
The pullout, scheduled for August, is a major benchmark of progress toward an eventual peace deal.
She will be looking for proof that both sides are living up to their parts of the bargain – a smooth and timely withdrawal for the Israelis and workable Palestinian plans to govern and keep a lid on violence when the Israeli settlers depart.
“What they are doing is moving thousands of people with their effects, and families, and it’s going to be complicated,” Rice said before her plane stopped for refuelling at Shannon airport in Ireland.
“I know Israel has done a lot of planning; I know the Palestinians have done a lot of planning. Our goal is to make sure they are doing their planning together.”
The US is taking a mostly hands-off approach to the peace process, but Rice’s trip marks the second time that she has held separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas just ahead of a summit between the two leaders.
Her Middle East visit will also test the Bush administration’s commitment to spreading democracy in the region.
Rice, who replaced Colin Powell in January, is paying her first calls on Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where she will make a speech at a Cairo university.
Rice will also see leaders in Jordan. Iraq will be on her agenda there, along with support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Jordan is sandwiched between Iraq and Israel.
Iraq remains the subject when Rice leaves the region next week for a day of meetings in Brussels intended to attract more money and expertise for the rebuilding of Iraq’s infrastructure and government.
She will also attend a planning session in London ahead of next month’s Group of Eight economic meeting.
