Rice wants PA to fight terror

JERUSALEM – U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who landed in Israel Thursday, praised Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's determination in carrying out the upcoming pullout and said she would encourage the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorists.

Speaking to reporters in a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in Jerusalem, Rice said that Israel was embarking on a historic move.

“This is a critical time in the history of this region because Prime Minister Sharon has taken a historic decision to disengage from Gaza and from settlements in the west bank,” she said.

“This is an effort by the prime minister and his government to improve the security situation for the Israeli people…and also to improve the chances for a lasting peace," Rice said.

“I also look forward to talking about the need to resist any efforts by terrorists to destroy this moment of hope for the people of the Palestinian territories and for the people of Israel," the secretary of state said.

She noted there will also be those who "try and destroy hope," but stressed that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas "made a very fine statement when he called for action against gunmen. I would just encourage them (PA) in that work."

Pullout coordination to resume

Rice added she looked forward to working with both the Israelis and the Palestinians about the need for "tight coordination and for rapid resolution of a number of key issues that are before the parties in advance of the disengagement.”

Meanwhile, security officials have decided in principle to resume pullout coordination efforts with the Palestinians. The efforts were halted last week following the suicide bombing in Netanya.

Meanwhile, Minister Shalom told reporters that Israel was hopeful for a normalization of relations with Arab states in the near future.

“In the coming months there is a window of opportunity for improvement in the normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab countries,” said Shalom. “We hope to see an opening of representations of Arab states in Israel. We are confident the United Sates will continue to contribute to this effort."

“The United States continues to show the way its uncompromising attitude toward terrorism,” he added.

In his speech, Shalom also noted that Abbas proved in recent days he was able to stand up to the Hamas, and added that attempts to stop terrorists must become a regular strategy, which does not hinge on terror attacks.