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Rice says Israelis, Palestinians plan to resume peace talks

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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that the Palestinians and Israelis plan to return to negotiating table, but did not specify a concrete timeframe for the future talks.
TEL AVIV, March 5 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that the Palestinians and Israelis plan to return to negotiating table, but did not specify a concrete timeframe for the future talks.

"I have been informed by the parties that they intend to resume negotiations and are in contact with one another as to how to bring this about," Rice said at a news conference in Jerusalem following a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Rice is currently on a two-day Middle East tour with the aim of salvaging Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, launched at a peace conference in Annapolis in November last year.

At the Annapolis forum, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged to forge a peace deal by the end of 2008.

However, Abbas suspended the U.S.-brokered peace negotiations with Israel, following an escalation in tensions in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Hamas militants have recently intensified rocket and mortar attacks at border towns in southern Israel, including Sderot and Ashkelon. In less than a week of escalating conflict between Israelis and Palestinians 190 Qassam rockets were launched against southern Israel, as well as 20 more powerful missiles and 67 mortars.

Israel responded with airstrikes targeting Hamas facilities and militia, and launched last Wednesday a ground offensive in northern Gaza that killed at least 120 Palestinians, and injured 400, including women and children.

Israel earlier expressed its readiness to continue negotiations, but vowed on Wednesday to keep up military strikes on the Gaza Strip as long as rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled territory continues.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Rice that Israel would not be put off from conducting a major military offensive in Gaza.

"Israel is committed to the security of its citizens, and while we do not want a wide operation in the Gaza Strip, we will not be deterred from it," said Barak.

Although Mahmoud Abbas earlier on Wednesday threatened to boycott the peace talks until a ceasefire has been reached, later in the afternoon he announced intentions to resume negotiations without prior preconditions.

"The peace process is a strategic choice and we have the intention of resuming the peace process," he said in a statement.

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