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US 'wants Palestinian state now' US 'wants Palestinian state now'
(about 1 hour later)
The US secretary of state has said it is time for a Palestinian state to be founded, and that the US will put its full weight behind such efforts.The US secretary of state has said it is time for a Palestinian state to be founded, and that the US will put its full weight behind such efforts.
Condoleezza Rice said she and President George Bush would make finding a two-state solution a priority for the remainder of their terms in office. Condoleezza Rice said reaching a two-state solution was a priority for her and US President George Bush.
Ms Rice was speaking from the West Bank, where she has been trying to get agreement for a peace summit in the US.Ms Rice was speaking from the West Bank, where she has been trying to get agreement for a peace summit in the US.
She said the conference would have to be "serious and substantive". Meanwhile the Israeli PM has hinted he may consider giving up Palestinian districts in Jerusalem in a peace deal.
"We frankly have better things to do than invite people" to the planned conference in Annapolis, Maryland, "for a photo op," said Ms Rice. Ehud Olmert told parliament "legitimate questions" could be asked about the Israeli annexing of outlying Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem following the 1967 war.
The Palestinians have warned that if no tightly-worded text is agreed on which to base talks, they will not attend. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state of Palestine, and the issue is one of the most sensitive and intractable of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Israelis say they do not believe an agreed text is necessary. 'It is time'
Ms Rice's motorcade was delayed for a quarter of an hour by a security alert during which her vehicle took cover in an Israeli fire station. "Frankly it is time for the establishment of a Palestinian state," Ms Rice told reporters in a news conference which she held with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Strong words
"Frankly it is time for the establishment of a Palestinian state," Ms Rice told reporters in the news conference, which she held with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
She said the US regarded a two-state solution "as absolutely essential for the future, not just of Palestinians and Israelis but also for the Middle East and indeed for American interests".
Every time I visit, the situation seems to have worsened John Dugard,UN special rapporteur Quartet's 'deaf ears'Every time I visit, the situation seems to have worsened John Dugard,UN special rapporteur Quartet's 'deaf ears'
She said the US regarded a two-state solution "as absolutely essential for the future, not just of Palestinians and Israelis but also for the Middle East and indeed for American interests".
She said Mr Bush would make finding a resolution a top priority of his time in office, and that she would devote her "last ounce of energy" to the issue.She said Mr Bush would make finding a resolution a top priority of his time in office, and that she would devote her "last ounce of energy" to the issue.
Mr Abbas said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were working together to agree ways to end the conflict. Ms Rice said she wanted agreement on the peace summit, set to be held in Annapolis, Maryland - but that it would have to be "a serious and substantive conference that will advance the cause of a Palestinian state.
"We frankly have better things to do than invite people to Annapolis for a photo op," said Ms Rice.
The Palestinians have warned that if no tightly-worded text is agreed on which to base talks, they will not attend. The Israelis say they do not believe an agreed text is necessary.
Despite Ms Rice's assertion that the current diplomacy represented "the most serious effort to end this conflict in many, many years", the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Ramullah cautions that huge differences remain between the two sides.
Ms Rice will now meet other regional leaders. She will need to convince them, too, that a peace conference will be worth turning up for, says our correspondent.
Difficult negotiations
At the same news conference, Mr Abbas said Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were working together.
"We are working on a joint document with the Israeli side. The document will set out the basis of the solutions to the final status issues: Jerusalem, borders, settlements, refugees, security, water and bilateral relations," he said."We are working on a joint document with the Israeli side. The document will set out the basis of the solutions to the final status issues: Jerusalem, borders, settlements, refugees, security, water and bilateral relations," he said.
The Israelis and Palestinians have previously clashed on the next for an agreed document before the conference, touted for November or the following month. HAVE YOUR SAY Is the Mid-East Quartet failing Palestinians? No, it has failed them -years ago Peter Hindrup, Australia class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=3682&edition=1">Send us your comments
But Ms Rice said she sensed a "seriousness and commitment" in the attitudes of Mr Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, making "this is the most serious effort to try to end this conflict in many, many years". The Palestinians want detailed agreement and a timetable for the implementation of solutions to some of the key disputes, while the Israelis want a broader, more general document with no timetable. The disagreement has threatened to derail the conference entirely.
Earlier, the UN human rights envoy to the Occupied Territories strongly criticised the Quartet group trying to promote an Israeli-Palestinian peace process, saying it is not doing enough to challenge Israel's restrictions on the movement of Palestinians. But on Monday, Mr Olmert appeared to suggest he might be open to compromise on one of the thorniest issues - the status of Jerusalem.
Speaking to the BBC, John Dugard said he thought the UN might soon need to withdraw from the Quartet - made up of the UN, the US, the EU and Russia - because it was "failing in its duty to the Palestinian people". He questioned the logic of a decision to include Palestinian areas within the city's expanded boundaries after Israel captured them in the 1967 Middle East war.
"Was it necessary to annex the Shufat refugee camp, al-Sawahra, Walajeh and other villages and state that this is also Jerusalem?" Mr Olmert asked in a speech to the Knesset.
"I must admit, one can ask some legitimate questions on the issue," he told parliament.