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| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Rice makes bid for Mid-East peace | Rice makes bid for Mid-East peace |
| (3 days later) | |
| US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to meet soon for a three-way summit. | US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are to meet soon for a three-way summit. |
| US officials said the summit, announced after Ms Rice met the Israeli leader, would take place within four weeks. | US officials said the summit, announced after Ms Rice met the Israeli leader, would take place within four weeks. |
| The basis of the talks will be the 2003 roadmap, a US-backed plan which demands Palestinians rein in militants and Israel freeze settlement building. | The basis of the talks will be the 2003 roadmap, a US-backed plan which demands Palestinians rein in militants and Israel freeze settlement building. |
| But as Ms Rice met Mr Olmert, Israel said it planned to build more houses. | But as Ms Rice met Mr Olmert, Israel said it planned to build more houses. |
| Israel's Housing Ministry published newspaper advertisements inviting bids for the construction of 44 homes in the largest Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. | Israel's Housing Ministry published newspaper advertisements inviting bids for the construction of 44 homes in the largest Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. |
| 'Peace or settlements' | 'Peace or settlements' |
| Ms Rice met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, before talks with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman. | Ms Rice met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, before talks with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman. |
| She said she had heard "loud and clear" the call from Arab leaders for more US engagement in the long-running dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. | She said she had heard "loud and clear" the call from Arab leaders for more US engagement in the long-running dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. |
| The establishment of a Palestinian state should be pursued on its own merits, not because of anything else - not because of Iran, not because of Iraq, not because of anything Condoleezza Rice US secretary of state class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=5229&edition=2&ttl=20070113162828">Send us your comments | |
| But the top US diplomat has offered no new initiatives for ending the conflict, although officials have made clear that they want to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. | But the top US diplomat has offered no new initiatives for ending the conflict, although officials have made clear that they want to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. |
| Mr Abbas' Fatah party is locked in a power struggle with rival group Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian government last year and which calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. | Mr Abbas' Fatah party is locked in a power struggle with rival group Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian government last year and which calls for the destruction of the state of Israel. |
| Following the announcement that Israel planned more houses, the Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said the country had to choose between peace or settlements, but could not have both. | Following the announcement that Israel planned more houses, the Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said the country had to choose between peace or settlements, but could not have both. |
| Peace Now, an Israeli pressure group that opposes the building of settlements and monitors their expansion, said the announcement was spitting in the face of the American government. | Peace Now, an Israeli pressure group that opposes the building of settlements and monitors their expansion, said the announcement was spitting in the face of the American government. |
| Cairo talks | Cairo talks |
| Ms Rice is now in Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak and Arab League chief Amr Moussa. | Ms Rice is now in Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak and Arab League chief Amr Moussa. |
| Afterwards she heads to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in an attempt to drum up support for President George W Bush's new strategy in Iraq. | Afterwards she heads to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in an attempt to drum up support for President George W Bush's new strategy in Iraq. |
| Ms Rice has said Arab leaders have every incentive to help as a stable Iraq is also in their interests. | Ms Rice has said Arab leaders have every incentive to help as a stable Iraq is also in their interests. |
| In advance of her visit, the secretary of state said she was not bringing new proposals but would be listening, talking and looking for "creative" solutions. | In advance of her visit, the secretary of state said she was not bringing new proposals but would be listening, talking and looking for "creative" solutions. |
| She said concerns about Iraq and Iran had not distracted Washington from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. | She said concerns about Iraq and Iran had not distracted Washington from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. |