Rice meets Abbas to discuss Palestinian unity deal

[Eugene]

(Reuters)

Rice meets Abbas to discuss Palestinian unity deal

By Sue Pleming and Wafa Amr

18 minutes ago

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought explanations
on Sunday from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about a unity government that Israel said
it had agreed with Washington to shun.

Pledging to continue to "probe the diplomatic horizon," Rice traveled to the occupied West Bank
to meet the moderate Palestinian leader just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said
prospects for peace had dimmed.

Rice, Olmert and Abbas are all due to meet in Jerusalem on Monday, but no joint news conference
is planned -- a sign that expectations are low.

"I hope that this meeting with the three of us will be an opportunity to understand the current
situation and commit and recommit to existing peace agreements," Rice told reporters, with Abbas
seated at her side.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070218/wl_nm/palestinians_dc

[Scurrilous]

1. Three protesters arrested at Rice's Jerusalem hotel

<snip>

"Israeli police arrested Monday three protesters who managed to enter the floor of the Jerusalem hotel where U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is staying, a spokesman said.

The three protesters entered the hotel, climbed the stairs to the floor where Rice is staying and shouted before they were stopped by bodyguards, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. They called on the United States to free Jonathan Pollard, an American who is serving a life term in the United States for spying on the Pentagon for Israel.

Israeli police arrested the three protesters before they got very close to Rice's room, Rosenfeld said. It was not clear if Rice was in the room at the time, he said.

Rice had earlier in the day held a meeting in the hotel with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/19/africa/ME-GEN-Israel-Rice-Protesters.php