Rice stresses need for viable Palestinian state

There can be no Arab-Israeli peace unless the Palestinians gain a state that satisfies their aspirations for independence, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said before meeting with a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Rice said a Palestinian state was “within our grasp”. Israel must recognise, she said yesterday, that the state must be viable and contiguous, which means it would have enough land to function well.