Secretary of State Rice concludes visit

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concluded a four-day visit to the region yesterday, and expressed guarded optimism regarding the prospects for success of the current process.  Rice noted that the current negotiations represent the most serious exchanges between Israelis and Palestinians on the core issues of the conflict for some time. Contacts between the sides over the content of the joint declaration are continuing, but differences still remain on the issue of a precise timetable for negotiations on core issues, which Israel is reluctant to commit to because of the weakness of the Palestinian leadership. The Palestinians are also understood to want the issue of the ‘right of return' mentioned in the declaration, and to include an explicit Israeli commitment to a withdrawal to the borders of 1967. Israel is not willing to accede to either of these conditions.

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