MIDDLE EAST: US Secretary of State Ms Condoleezza Rice pledged yesterday that the US would be "very active" in promoting peace efforts in the Middle East and backed up her declaration by announcing the appointment of a US general as security co-ordinator in the region.
"There should be no doubt about the commitment of the United States to this process at this time - no doubt about the commitment of the President, no doubt about my personal commitment," she said in Ramallah, where she met Palestinian leader Mr Mahmoud Abbas.
The comments by Ms. Rice - she also pledged more than $40 million in aid to the Palestinians over the next three months - came on the eve of today's summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, which will be attended by Mr Abbas, the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, and Jordan's King Abdullah. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is playing host.
Ms Rice, who was wrapping up her first visit to the region since taking up her new post, also said that both Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas had accepted invitations to the White House in the spring for separate meetings with President Bush.
The new security co-ordinator will be Gen William E. Ward, a senior military man who headed a NATO force in post-war Bosnia. Ms Rice said he would visit the region in the coming weeks. His job will be to monitor adherence to security arrangements as well as reform of the Palestinian Authority security forces. Mr Abbas has said he plans to restructure his security apparatus and place it under a single, centralised command.
The last time the US monitored security co-operation was in 2003, when the CIA did the job. But the agency packed its bags and departed after three Americans were killed in an attack by militants in Gaza.
The US wants to bolster the recent calm in the region and fears that if security co-operation is not closely monitored, the violence could erupt again.
Talking to reporters after her meeting in Ramallah, Ms Rice praised Mr Abbas for taking steps to "follow through with his mandate" on establishing security and law and order in the territories. The meeting with Mr Abbas came after several years in which the Bush administration had demonstratively ignored Yasser Arafat, whom it held responsible for the ongoing hostilities.
By taking several steps to end the violence, including the deployment of his security forces in Gaza to prevent the firing of rockets by militants into Israel, Mr Abbas has won supporters in the White House.
Signalling the shift in atmospherics in US-Palestinian relations, Foreign Minister Mr Nabil Sha'ath said yesterday that the Palestinians had "seen an American interest in solving the Palestinian-Israel conflict that we didn't see in a very long time."
Ms Rice emphasised yesterday that she had impressed on Israel the need to refrain from taking unilateral measures that would prejudice the outcome of future final status negotiations between the sides. The Secretary of State was referring specifically to steps by Israel aimed at expropriating land in East Jerusalem owned by Palestinians living in the West Bank.
She was also alluding to Israel's failure to fulfil two of its obligations in the first phase of the road map peace plan: the dismantling of dozens of illegal outposts that have been set up across the West Bank and the freezing of settlement construction.
"We did talk about the need to make sure that both obligations are carried out concerning settlements and outposts," Ms Rice said. She also called on the Palestinians to fulfil their obligation to "fight against terrorism".
In a confidence-building measure on the eve of the summit, Israel yesterday reopened the Karni crossing, the main point for the passage of cargo in and out of Gaza.