Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    RAMALLAH, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday admitted that expanding Israeli settlements in West Bank affected on confidence atmosphere between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

    Rice was speaking in a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah following a meeting. Rice told the reporters that they discussed the issue of the settlements, she added that the construction of the settlements weaken the confidence in the negotiations between the two sides. For his part, Abbas urged Israel to carry out the first phase of the Road Map plan since it was the reference of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks which resumed following a U.S. initiative in November.

    The first phase, according to Abbas, is stopping the constructions of the Israeli settlements in West Bank, reopening the PNA institutions in Jerusalem and ending all the measures that Israel took after the eruption of the second Palestinian Intifada (Uprising) in 2000.

    Earlier last month, Israel revealed plans to build and expand100 homes in two West Bank settlements, violating the U.S.-backed Road Map peace plan which is considered reference of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

    Meanwhile, the two top officials also talked about easing the life of the Palestinians in the Abbas' Fatah-dominated West Bank by lifting the Israeli checkpoints and restoring order by allowing the deployment of pro-Abbas forces in the West Bank towns. Asked if she received Israeli promise to remove some of the roadblocks, Rice said she spent so much time in this issue, calling to consider Israel's security. She also linked between lifting the roadblocks and the improvement of the Palestinian security forces' performance.

    President Abbas hoped to deploy the PNA's forces in every Palestinian town after being deployed Saturday in northern West Bank city of Jenin to restore order. The deployments are part of the U.S.-backed Road Map peace plan.

    On Saturday, President Abbas deployed more than 480 Palestinian security forces in northern West Bank town of Jenin, as part of the government's security plan. The moves will be covered some 50villages and is supposed to last for three months.

    Abbas also renewed the PNA's commitment to negotiations and peace process with Israel.

    As part of the commitment, Abbas noted he would meet Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert Monday while the heads of the negotiation teams, former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni would meet the same day. "The meetings will discuss the final-status issues and the vital daily-life issues," he said.

    The talks aim at reaching a framework enabling the creation of a Palestinian statehood alongside Israel. Rice said that President Bush believes it was time to establish the Palestinian statehood and reaching the deal before he leaves the White House. However, President Abbas said that time was too short and they "race with time" to accomplish it. He admitted that after several months of negotiations, no single word has been written for the agreement.

    As for the internal Palestinian issues, Abbas called on the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, to accept holding early presidential and parliamentary elections.

    "We call on Hamas to step back from its coup, to accept the legitimacy and to immediately accept holding early presidential and parliamentary elections."

    Hamas ousted pro-Abbas forces from Gaza Strip and took over the territory in June. The Islamic movement, which won legislative elections in January 2006, still rules the Gaza Strip and the group is neglecting a decree by Abbas firing its administration. "We stress that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are a united geographical part," Abbas added. After sacking Hamas, Abbas for meda western-backed government based in the West Bank without having the confidence from the Hamas-dominated parliament. On Saturday evening, Rice arrived in Israel for a two-day official visit to promote the stalled negotiations between Israel and the PNA.

    Late on Sunday, Rice is scheduled to head back to Israel for a closed meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni after she had talks with Abbas in Ramallah.

    In the evening, Rice is scheduled to hold another three-way meeting with Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei to discuss the disagreements between Israel and the PNA on the core issues, including Jerusalem, the refugees and the permanent borders of a future Palestinian state.