US Secretary of State Condoleezza Hamas arrests militants; Gaza truce holds despite ...
Israel signs prisoner swap deal ...
Abbas discusses Mid.
East peace with Syrian President ... Rice is due to hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on the second day of her tour of the Middle East.
Ms Rice's visit is part of US efforts to secure a peace deal in the region by the end of the year.
Ms Rice has played down the possibility that details of an interim agreement might be published next month.
Meanwhile, the Israeli foreign minister and chief negotiator Tzipi Livni has warned against rushing the process.
Ms Livni said that to bridge gaps prematurely, as she put it, can lead to misunderstandings and violent clashes.
Ms Rice will hold three-way talks with Ms Livni and the chief Palestinian negotiator, Ahmed Qurie, as well as meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Speaking en route to Israel, Ms Rice told reporters: "I think it is extremely important just to keep making forward progress, rather than trying prematurely to come to some set of conclusions."
Correspondents say Washington's aim for a peace deal this year looks unlikely.
Relations between Israel and the Palestinians have been strained in recent months and both have internal issues.
The Israeli leadership is in flux: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he will step down after new internal party elections.
And the Palestinians remain divided between those in charge of the West Bank, with whom the Israelis are talking, and the rival Islamist Hamas faction, in control of the Gaza Strip.
Ms Rice's visit has coincided with the release of 198 Palestinian prisoners in what Israel called a goodwill gesture to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Ms Rice welcomed news of the prisoner release as "a very good step".
(BBC)
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