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Rice tries to save Mid-East talks Rice tries to save Mid-East talks
(about 1 hour later)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has held talks with Egyptian officials, the first stage of a trip aimed at saving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has held talks with Egyptian officials, the first stage of a trip aimed at saving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas broke off contacts with Israel in protest at its recent offensive in Gaza, which has left more than 100 Palestinians dead. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas broke off contacts with Israel in protest at its recent offensive in Gaza, which has left more than 110 Palestinians dead.
Ms Rice said the US was concerned about the toll of innocent life, but blamed Hamas for triggering the bloodshed.Ms Rice said the US was concerned about the toll of innocent life, but blamed Hamas for triggering the bloodshed.
She said talks must not be sabotaged by those rejecting a peace deal.She said talks must not be sabotaged by those rejecting a peace deal.
Ms Rice will head on to Israel and the West Bank for further negotiations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Ms Rice headed on to Israel and the West Bank for further negotiations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
I continue to believe that they can get to a deal by the end of the year if everyone's got the will to do it Condoleezza Rice An asymmetric fightIn pictures: Gaza aftermath The people who are firing rockets do not want peace, they sow instability Condoleezza Rice An asymmetric fightIn pictures: Gaza aftermath
Israel has now pulled its troops out of Gaza, but has warned of fresh action to prevent militants firing rockets at populated areas in southern Israel. Israel has now pulled its troops out of Gaza, which is under control of the militant Hamas group, but has warned of fresh action to prevent militants firing rockets at populated areas in southern Israel.
"There has to be an active peace process that can withstand the efforts of rejectionists to keep peace from being made," Mr Rice told reporters in Cairo."There has to be an active peace process that can withstand the efforts of rejectionists to keep peace from being made," Mr Rice told reporters in Cairo.
"The people who are firing rockets do not want peace, they sow instability, that is what Hamas is doing," Ms Rice said."The people who are firing rockets do not want peace, they sow instability, that is what Hamas is doing," Ms Rice said.
Three Israelis have died in recent days - a civilian killed by a rocket and two soldiers in the Gaza clashes. Effects on innocent
Ms Rice's trip was planned a few weeks ago and was meant to move peace talks forward, after a commitment by both sides at a conference in November in the US. On Tuesday, a rocket from Gaza hit the nearby Israeli town of Sderot, causing extensive damage.
Correspondents describe Ms Rice's trip as a rescue missionBut instead the US secretary of state finds herself on a rescue mission, trying to get the two parties to talk to each other again, the BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says. Israeli forces launched several air and ground strikes on rocket squads and Hamas installations, killing at least two militants.
Our correspondent adds that the recent violence has shown the limitations of the Bush administration's strategy of talking to the government of Mr Abbas while cutting off Hamas in Gaza. Correspondents describe Ms Rice's trip as a rescue missionThree Israelis have died in recent days - a civilian killed by a rocket and two soldiers in the Gaza clashes.
Hamas does not recognise Israel and opposes the peace process. It ousted Mr Abbas's forces from Gaza in June, but he remains in control of Palestinian-administered parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Human rights groups say about half of the approximately 115 Palestinian fatalities have been civilians, and Israel has been accused of a disproportionate military response in breach of the laws of war.
International alarm "I have told the Israelis that when they are engaged in defending themselves they need to be aware of the effects of those operations on innocent people... and what can happen the next day," Ms Rice said in Cairo.
The Israeli prime minister has warned that the recent Gaza offensive was "not a one-off event". She was speaking after meetings with President Hosni Mubarak, as well as the prime minister and the influential intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.
Parts of Jabaliya, Gaza, have been destroyed by the operationMr Olmert told the parliamentary foreign affairs and defence committee: "Everything is possible... air strikes, ground strikes and special operations are all being discussed." Shooting
A senior government official quoted by Reuters news agency said Israel had called a "two-day interval" during the US secretary of state's visit. The violence in Gaza has transformed Ms Rice's trip to the region. She had hoped to be nudging Israel and Mr Abbas towards progress in peace talks, but is now attempting a rescue mission to prevent them from completely collapsing.
Medical sources say at least 112 Palestinians - including children - have been killed since Wednesday. Israel and the West have shunned Hamas over its refusal to recognise Israel and opposition the peace process. Hamas ousted Mr Abbas's forces from Gaza in June, but he remains in control of Palestinian-administered parts of the West Bank.
There has been widespread international alarm at the scale of the Israeli operation. The Gaza conflict has sparked violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a Palestinian teenager was shot dead by a settler near a Jewish settlement on Monday.
The European Union criticised what it called Israel's "disproportionate use of force" and also demanded an immediate end to Palestinian militant rocket attacks on Israel. Palestinian security said he was with a group of Palestinian youths who planned to throw rocks at the settlement. The settler was arrested by Israeli police but later released.
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem expressed concern at what it called the large number of children and other civilians among those killed and wounded in the Gaza Strip. "The family of the victim refused to release his body for an autopsy and therefore we could not establish the responsibility of the Israeli implicated in this affair," said a police spokesmen.
Extra Israeli police and troops were stationed in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to prevent a repeat of Monday's rioting.