Rice-Abbas

     Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday urged the United States to push forward with peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, warning against wasting more time in the search for a solution. "We shouldn't lose another seven years searching for solutions," said Abbas, referring to the time that has elapsed since peace negotiations between the sides broke down in 2001 during the second intifada. Abbas expressed his hope that after U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office, the new administration "will continue what we have begun, and what we have reached." He added: "These efforts haven't been for nothing. We would have stopped it if it was pointless. There are benefits that I hope will show in the future." Abbas' statements came during a meeting with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Ramallah on Tuesday, in which she called on Israel to end West Bank settlement construction, calling it "not helpful" to the peace process. The U.S. is trying to broker a deal that would establish an independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel. The Palestinians claim the West Bank and Gaza Strip, along with east Jerusalem as its capital. Rice called on Israel on Tuesday not to undermine peace negotiations with the Palestinians after a Peace Now report found it had nearly doubled Jewish settlement construction in the last year. Rice is visiting Israel and the Palestinian Authority in hopes of furthering the announced goal of brokering a Mideast peace deal by the end of the year, but she offered few signs of progress. Speaking alongside her Israeli counterpart, Rice said she was heartened that talks launched at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference last November were serious and intensive. The sides had hoped to reach a final peace deal before Bush leaves office in January, but have acknowledged that target is unlikely to be met. Rice made no mention of the timeline on Tuesday. Rice is on her seventh trip to the region since talks were relaunched. While Israel and the Palestinians say all key issues have been under discussion, there has been no word on agreements or breakthroughs, Haaretz reported. (19,58)