By Xinhua
Cairo : Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks, saying she will work toward resumption of the negotiations of the two sides as soon as possible.
Rice made the remarks during a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
“There has to be an active peace process that can withstand the efforts of rejectionists to keep peace from being made,” Rice said, adding “The people who are firing rockets do not want peace.”
Rice urged Palestinian militants to stop rocket fire against Israel, backing Israel’s right to respond to the rocket attacks.
“The rocket attacks against innocent civilians in their (Israeli) cities need to stop,” Rice said, adding “No Israeli government can tolerate that.”
But Rice also said Israel must avoid causing civilian casualties when carrying out actions in response to rocket fire.
“I have told the Israelis that when they are engaged in defending themselves they need to be aware of the effects of those operations on innocent people,” said Rice.
The U.S. secretary of state said Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip last June, is armed “in part” by Iran.
“It is very clear that they’re being armed in part by the Iranians,” she said.
Rice thus stressed the need for the United States to help train the Palestinian security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
For his part, Abul Gheit said Hamas was “part of the Palestinian equation” and would have to be dealt with in future negotiations “if they would mend their ways” to renounce violence.
Rice arrived here early Tuesday to start her new Mideast tour, during which she is also expected to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories on means to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
Meanwhile, armed Palestinian groups on Tuesday continued firing home-made rockets into southern Israel, one day after the Israeli army withdrew ground troops from northern Gaza Strip.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew its ground troops from Gaza and completed a five-day incursion in the Palestinian enclave that killed more than 120 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others, but vowing its actions against Palestinian rocket fire would not stop.