Rice seeks to gain Palestinian assurances

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice turned her attention to the new Palestinian leadership after telling Israelis they must make hard decisions for peace – part of the run-up to the first full-fledged summit meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders after four years of violence.

Rice was to meet in the West Bank city of Ramallah today with Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded the late Yasser Arafat as Palestinian leader after elections last month.