Condoleezza Rice to push for ease of movement in the West Bank
Sunday, 04 May 2008 08:57
Condoleezza Rice is expected to tackle the easing of movement restrictions
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Condoleezza Rice is set to meet with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas as part of her latest visit to the Middle East.
The US secretary of state has already held talks with Israel's defence minister Ehud Barak and prime minister Ehud Olmert, but will meet with Mr Abbas in Ramallah to discuss the outcome of previous peace talks.
According to the AFP news agency Ms Rice is expected to concentrate on easing movement restrictions in the West Bank.
Her last visit secured a pledge by the Israelis to remove 50 of their roadblocks in the region, but according to Palestinians and the UN's office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, this was not significant enough.
Ms Rice told reporters on her flight to the Middle East: "The first thing we are going to do is review the ones that were supposedly removed... one thing I want to talk to the Israelis about is the qualitative character of those roadblocks, because not all roadblocks are created equal."
The secretary of state's visit is expected to include talks with Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei.
President George Bush is scheduled to visit the Middle East later this month.