Rice to hold talks with Abbas today

Rice is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories for peace talks

Peroshni Govender
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank today. Rice is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories.

She met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem last night. Rice says she will review whether both Israel and the Palestinians are meeting their obligations.

Rice is hoping to speed up the Middle East peace talks. She will review whether Israel is taking steps to ensure the lives of Palestinians improve. Palestinian attempts to crack down on militants who launch attacks on Israel will also be under the spotlight.

The peace talks were launched in November but have failed to take off. US President George W Bush is expected to visit Israel later this month. Rice is hoping to make a tangible breakthrough ahead of his visit.