JERUSALEM, Nov. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel Sunday evening to participate a memorial forum to mark the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

    Besides attending the memorial forum, Rice will also meet Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and go to the Palestinian territories to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

    Rice's visit to Israel is part of her on-going Middle Easts wing which has already taken her to Iraq, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

    Rice also plans a brief stop in Jordan on Monday to show solidarity with the US ally rocked by terrorist bombings that killed 57 people last week.

    Speaking to reporters en route to Israel from Saudi Arabia,Rice said change was taking place rapidly in other parts of the Middle East and Israel and the Palestinians should follow suit.

    "I will talk about the changed context in the Middle East," she said, referring to Libya's decision to abandon weapons of mass destruction, Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon, the ousting of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and tentative reforms in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

    The Bush administration is under no illusion that democratic change in the Middle East will be either swift or easy, she said.    Enditem