Rice says `hard decisions' await Israel on road to peace

The United States will ask Israel to make “hard decisions” as it moves toward peace with the Palestinians, and both sides must live up to their promises, Condoleezza Rice said yesterday during her first trip to the Middle East as secretary of state. Rice's two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank headquarters of the newly elected Palestinian government is meant to nudge both sides to take hold of what Rice called “a time of opportunity” and end four years of war.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders are to meet Tuesday in Egypt, a sign that tensions are easing and violence has dropped since Mahmoud Abbas replaced the late Yasser Arafat as the Palestinian leader. On arrival, Rice said she would push for progress from both sides. Rice met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the former warrior turned potential peacemaker yesterday. Today, she plans to visit with Abbas. Before their meeting, Sharon said he was sure his talks with Rice would “contribute to the friendly relations between the two countries.” Sharon said in Hebrew that he also expected her visit to contribute to the peace process, “which we want to very much want to push forward in the region.”
In response, Rice said, “This is a hopeful time, but it is a time also of great responsibility for all of us to make certain that we act on the words that we speak.” She said her goal was to “try to advance the cause of peace and to overcome the scourge of terrorism.” Rice and Sharon later had a 90-minute dinner meeting, which State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said included a discussion of the initial steps from the new Palestinian government to end violence, and Israel's response.
Rice also outlined “a possible security mechanism to help Palestinians build effective security forces that fight terrorism and help Palestinians and Israelis in cooperating to end the violence.” Boucher did not give details, but the Bush administration is working on ways to monitor or enforce a cease-fire.