Rice tries to revive Israeli Palestinian peace talks

RAMALLAH – United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israel and the Palestinians yesterday to resume US-sponsored peace talks suspended over Israel’s offensive in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Rice said during talks in Cairo that only negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority could lead to lasting peace and brushed aside Egyptian calls for a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza. “Negotiations ought to resume as soon as possible,” Rice told reporters in Cairo, where she consulted Egyptian leaders on how to defuse the Gaza crisis and appease Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.”I am going to have discussions with the parties about how we try to keep this process going, given that obviously there are going to be spoilers,” she said before flying to Tel Aviv and then going to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.Israeli forces killed 123 Palestinians, many of them civilians, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, in a five-day assault on northern Gaza which Israel said was launched to counter rocket salvoes by Islamist Hamas militants.That mission ended on Monday but sporadic violence persisted.Rice said Israel had the right to defend itself and said Hamas was trying to wreck Palestinian statehood talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which Washington hopes will lead to an accord by the end of this year.”Hamas is doing what might be expected, which is using rocket attacks on Israel to arrest a peace process in which they have nothing to gain,” Rice said.Abbas suspended talks with Israel over the Gaza bloodshed.Olmert has called for negotiations to resume but threatened to take further military action in the Hamas-controlled territory to curb rocket attacks.Rice said any lengthy suspension of diplomacy would mean victory for Hamas, which seized control of Gaza from Abbas last June.Hamas, shunned by the West for refusing to renounce violence and recognise the Jewish state, called Rice’s mission a sham.”There is no peace process and no negotiations,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.”Rice is trying to excuse Israel’s slipping away of the peace process by linking that to the (Hamas) Qassam rockets.”Nampa-Reuters”Negotiations ought to resume as soon as possible,” Rice told reporters in Cairo, where she consulted Egyptian leaders on how to defuse the Gaza crisis and appease Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.”I am going to have discussions with the parties about how we try to keep this process going, given that obviously there are going to be spoilers,” she said before flying to Tel Aviv and then going to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.Israeli forces killed 123 Palestinians, many of them civilians, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, in a five-day assault on northern Gaza which Israel said was launched to counter rocket salvoes by Islamist Hamas militants.That mission ended on Monday but sporadic violence persisted.Rice said Israel had the right to defend itself and said Hamas was trying to wreck Palestinian statehood talks between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which Washington hopes will lead to an accord by the end of this year.”Hamas is doing what might be expected, which is using rocket attacks on Israel to arrest a peace process in which they have nothing to gain,” Rice said.Abbas suspended talks with Israel over the Gaza bloodshed.Olmert has called for negotiations to resume but threatened to take further military action in the Hamas-controlled territory to curb rocket attacks.Rice said any lengthy suspension of diplomacy would mean victory for Hamas, which seized control of Gaza from Abbas last June.Hamas, shunned by the West for refusing to renounce violence and recognise the Jewish state, called Rice’s mission a sham.”There is no peace process and no negotiations,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.”Rice is trying to excuse Israel’s slipping away of the peace process by linking that to the (Hamas) Qassam rockets.”Nampa-Reuters