Rice in Jerusalem to press for peace

Story Highlights

• Secretary of state arrives to discuss Middle East peace process
• Rice reiterates insistence on Hamas' recognition of previous pacts
• Meetings planned with Palestinian, Israeli, Jordanian leaders
• Hamas, Fatah have agreed to form coalition government

Adjust font size:

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday for a series of meetings with Middle Eastern leaders.

Before having dinner with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Rice said the proper foundation for a two-state solution in the Middle East depends upon creation of a Palestinian government that recognizes Israel and renounces terror.

Livni seconded Rice's prescription, saying that "the path toward a Palestinian state goes through renunciation of terrorism and violence."

Rice came to Jerusalem from Baghdad, Iraq, where she had made an unannounced stop to check on the security situation. (Full story)

She is to meet Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert before a three-way summit Monday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Rice will then go to Amman, Jordan, to meet with King Abdullah II before heading to Germany for more discussions on the Middle East peace process.

The Palestinian government's acceptance of Israel and interim peace agreements has been a major sticking point for the ruling Palestinian party Hamas.

"It makes sense that you have to renounce violence. It only makes sense that you have to recognize the right of your partner to exist and to respect international agreements," Rice said.

"And those principles remain the foundational principles for the foundation of two states and for the formation of leadership that can lead in that two-state solution," she said.

White House spokesman Alex Conant said Saturday that President Bush and Olmert spoke Friday on recent developments in Palestinian political affairs.

"As we've said, including Secretary Rice on February 17, we will await the formation of the government before making any decisions about it," Conant said. "The Quartet reiterated that any new Palestinian Authority government must renounce violence and terror, recognize Israel and respect previous agreements and obligations in its February 9 statement."

Hamas and Fatah leaders met last week in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca to negotiate the terms of a power-sharing government, which will represent both Palestinian factions.

Abbas is a member of Fatah, which formerly led the Palestinian government. Hamas now controls the Palestinian parliament.

The leaders hope a unity government will halt weeks of street clashes in Gaza and open the door to renewed international aid.

But while both factions agreed on a variety of terms, the reluctance of Hamas to explicitly endorse Israel's right to exist may leave Western countries unwilling to embrace the new government.