"(We) hope that the American referee or judge will make sure that Israel will meet its obligation," Abbas said during a joint news appearance with U.S. Secretary Condoleezza Rice at Amman, Jordan. He singled out stopping settlement activities in Jerusalem and the release of detainees to "fix a comprehensive reciprocal or mutual truce," a U.S. State Department statement said.

Rice said she had an opportunity to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace road map with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other negotiators.

"I know that your teams have a lot of hard work ahead of them," she said, "but I have to say that I find very impressive the work that is being done and the seriousness of the process, and I think it's all moving

in the right direction."

Abbas also expressed appreciation for efforts to remove what he called the siege on Gaza, especially by Egypt.