Rice will try unify Arab allies against Hamas

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice must try to reconcile dissonant elements of the Bush administration policy in the Middle East this week - defending the push for Palestinian elections won by proclaimed terrorists while appealing for help from the kind of autocratic regimes she says have had their day.

Rice, due to arrive in Cairo, Egypt, at about noon Irish time, is making her first trip to the region since the surprise Hamas victory in Palestinian elections last month, and does not plan to see any Palestinian officials.