Secretary Rice To Try Shuttle Diplomacy

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will undertake a form of shuttle diplomacy in an effort to bridge the gap between the Israeli and Palestinian positions concerning security and territory. Rice said on Sunday that she would hold separate meetings with the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority, personally bearing responses to the other side, with the end goal being the formation of a Palestinian state. On Monday, Rice will continue to meet with Israeli officials and on Monday evening will outline her plans at a news conference in Jerusalem. The possibility of a special envoy being appointed by the White House has been rumored. The renewed American efforts come on the eve of the re-launch of the Saudi peace proposal of 2002 at an Arab League summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Observers believe the U.S. will adopt the Saudi plan as a framework for overseeing the negotiations. Israeli leaders have tried without success to convince their Arab counterparts to drop the issue of a Palestinian "right of return" from the Saudi plan in order to remove a deal-breaker and increase the possibility of success. The Arab League has definitively rejected the Israeli plea.

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