Rice works on Mideast principles

Published Thursday, August 2, 2007

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice assured Palestinian leaders today that a U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference this fall is aimed at getting them closer to establishing an independent state and that Israel is now ready to discuss ways to achieve that.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during a meeting with Rice, also signaled willingness to work on a declaration of principles as a step toward a full peace deal. Up to now, the Palestinians have insisted on talks toward a peace treaty with no interim steps.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert floated the idea of a declaration of principles last week, but Abbas did not comment on it until today.

Rice met with Abbas at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah and signed an agreement granting the Palestinians $80 million for reform of their security services, a crucial issue in the Fatah-Hamas power struggle.

Abbas’ Fatah forces fell surprisingly quickly last month before an onslaught in Gaza from the rival Palestinian militant group Hamas, and restructuring and retraining Fatah-linked forces in the West Bank is seen as critical to keep Hamas at bay there.

Rice said she likely will be back in the region before the international peace conference planned for the fall.

Hamas denounced the latest show of U.S. support for its rival, Abbas. Abbas fired the Hamas-led government after the Islamic militant group’s violent takeover of Gaza in June, and he installed a Cabinet of moderates.

"Rice did not come to the region to establish a Palestinian state, as she and her master Bush claimed, but instead she came to support one Palestinian party against another and to support the Zionist occupation," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

In a joint news conference with Abbas, Rice said President George W. Bush wants to see progress toward Palestinian statehood at the conference. She said regional leaders, including those in Saudi Arabia, told her during her Mideast swing that the conference must deal with issues of substance.

"Prime Minister Olmert told me last night that he, too, shared that view, that this was a meeting that ought to be and needs to be substantive and meaningful and that will, in fact, help get to a two-state solution," Rice said.

"The president of the United States has no desire to call people together for a photo opportunity. This is to call people together so that we can really advance Palestinian statehood."

Abbas, meanwhile, said he is ready to negotiate a declaration of principles as an interim step. Such a declaration, as envisioned by Israel, would outline the contours of a future Palestinian state without immediately tackling the most explosive issues, such as final borders and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

"What is important is that we arrive at a result and that we know what that result is, what is the roof that we need to reach and what are the stages of implementation that we can agree on," Abbas said.