RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Palestinian and Israeli leaders praised U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for her efforts to promote the formation of a Palestinian state.
Rice is in the Middle East, meeting separately with interested government leaders to discuss the formation of such a state. Discussions about a Palestinian state are scheduled to continue later this fall in the United States.
During a Thursday news conference in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, "The time has come for the establishment of the Palestinian ... to live side by side with Israel with security and peace and to end the torment and suffering which our people continue to live since six decades."
While meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres Wednesday, Rice said she recognizes the process faces obstacles and will require hard work.
"But I do know that there is a spirit, a spirit and a desire to move toward peace," she said.
