Rice: Peace Deal Progress Despite Israeli Settlements
By VOA News
26 August 2008
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she believes Middle East peace talks are making progress, despite the ongoing expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Rice spoke Tuesday at a news conference in Ramallah the West Bank after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. She said U.S. President George Bush remains committed to the peace process, and that if the talks were easy, someone would have solved the issue a long time ago.
President Abbas insisted the two sides are making progress, but he added that Israel's settlement projects in the occupied territories are the main obstacle in the peace process.
After meeting with Rice earlier today, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said settlement activity has been reduced and should not influence the peace negotiations. She described Palestinian complaints about the settlements as "noise" aimed at derailing the talks.
An Israeli pacifist group, Peace Now, recently issued a report saying Israel has nearly doubled the pace at which it is expanding settlements since last year. The groups said the number of settlements grew from 240 new ones in 2007 to 443 this year.
The Palestinians have called on Israel to halt the settlement activity, as does a U.S.-backed peace plan.
Israel Tuesday closed border crossings to the Gaza Strip, without saying how long they will remain shut. The Israeli military said Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the closure after militants in Gaza fired two rockets across the border Monday, violating a cease-fire.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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