Rice fails to win Israel pledge

JERUSALEM – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice failed yesterday to secure a pledge from Israel to ease restrictions on the beleaguered Palestinian territories as she ended a visit aimed at breathing life into the moribund Middle East peace process.

Washington’s top diplomat left Israel without making any public statement following meetings with her Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Amir Peretz. She had been expected to announce “progress” on Israeli restrictions on crossings into the Gaza Strip at the tail end of her trip, aimed in part at boosting moderate Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the face of the ruling Islamist Hamas movement, branded a terrorist organisation by the West.”We hope to make some progress on the access and movements issues,” a senior State Department official had said after Rice met Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over dinner Wednesday.The premier told Rice that Karni, the main crossing point for the transit of goods between Gaza and Israel, would reopen shortly and that Peretz would brief her on the details, said a government statement.But Peretz made no announcement on the crossing in comments following his meeting with Rice, in an apparent sign that no firm agreement had been reached.Karni has been closed since August 15, affecting Gaza’s vital supplies of food, medicines and fuel in a territory where living standards have plummeted owing to aid boycotts and Israel’s bombing of the only power station in June.A senior Israeli security official had said on Wednesday that Peretz would present Rice with options for reopening Karni as well as the Rafah crossing in the south, Gaza’s only border point that bypasses Israel.The Rafah terminal has been closed almost continuously since Israel launched a massive offensive on Gaza in late June aiming to recover a soldier abducted by militants.It was reopened on Wednesday and Thursday.During her dinner with Olmert, Rice also failed to get Israel to agree to release customs duties collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority that the Jewish state has been withholding since before Hamas took office.Nampa-AFPShe had been expected to announce “progress” on Israeli restrictions on crossings into the Gaza Strip at the tail end of her trip, aimed in part at boosting moderate Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the face of the ruling Islamist Hamas movement, branded a terrorist organisation by the West.”We hope to make some progress on the access and movements issues,” a senior State Department official had said after Rice met Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over dinner Wednesday.The premier told Rice that Karni, the main crossing point for the transit of goods between Gaza and Israel, would reopen shortly and that Peretz would brief her on the details, said a government statement.But Peretz made no announcement on the crossing in comments following his meeting with Rice, in an apparent sign that no firm agreement had been reached.Karni has been closed since August 15, affecting Gaza’s vital supplies of food, medicines and fuel in a territory where living standards have plummeted owing to aid boycotts and Israel’s bombing of the only power station in June.A senior Israeli security official had said on Wednesday that Peretz would present Rice with options for reopening Karni as well as the Rafah crossing in the south, Gaza’s only border point that bypasses Israel.The Rafah terminal has been closed almost continuously since Israel launched a massive offensive on Gaza in late June aiming to recover a soldier abducted by militants.It was reopened on Wednesday and Thursday.During her dinner with Olmert, Rice also failed to get Israel to agree to release customs duties collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority that the Jewish state has been withholding since before Hamas took office.Nampa-AFP