Rice Glosses Over Mideast Differences

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, attend to a press conference after their meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah Thursday Sept. 20, 2007. Rice said Thursday an upcoming U.S.-sponsored Mideast conference must be "substantive," and that the two sides must draft a document before the meeting that lays "foundations for serious negotiations.(AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (Emilio Morenatti - AP)

Israeli and Palestinian government aides have described the document variously as an outline of a peace deal or a lesser summation of areas where the two sides already agree. It is supposed to be a building block for peace talks.

Israel has said it is premature to discuss the thorniest issues.

Rice said both sides are working on an agreement that would guide their negotiations toward a final deal.

"The issue is to move the process forward through a document that will help to lay a foundation so that there can be serious negotiations on the establishment of a Palestinian state as soon as possible," Rice said. "That's the purpose."

Rice said she was encouraged by the rapport and shared commitment of Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who have met regularly in recent months.

"We need a meeting that advances the cause of a Palestinian state," Rice said following talks with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank.

President Bush in July called for a conference to break the deadlock in the Mideast peace process. But the lack of an official agenda, location and timing worries Arab leaders whom the U.S. wants to recruit as backers for a renewed peace process.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said last week his country probably would not attend if the conference did not address substantive issues. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said he is concerned the meeting would amount to nothing without proper preparation.

Arab diplomats have compared the quiet U.S. planning for the session, and the vague statements from U.S. officials about the goals for the meeting, with the intensive shuttle diplomacy and U.S. arm-twisting that has preceded past peace summits.

Still, after years of deadlock and a hands-off approach by the Bush administration, peace efforts gained momentum this year. Israel, the U.S. and Palestinian leaders are trying to use the internal Palestinian political split as a springboard.

The militant Hamas group took over the Gaza Strip in June, set up rival governments in Gaza and the West Bank, and ended a partnership government with Palestinian moderates that the U.S. and Israel had found unpalatable.

Moderates, led by Abbas, now control the larger West Bank. The U.S. and Israel are trying to make the territory a model for a future independent Palestinian state.

With Hamas out of government, international aid is flowing and Israel has made limited gestures to boost Abbas' political standing and street credibility.