Washington, June 08: The Middle East peace process should not be derailed by the attack carried out by hardline militants on an Israel-Gaza crossing point that killed four Israelis, US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said today. "There are going to be those who try and make this process stillborn," Rice said. "The parties need to stay on track."
Rice said it was important for Israel and the Palestinians to continue to build on the successes forged at last week's Middle East summit, where the parties agreed to move toward dismantling Jewish settlements and ending the armed Palestinian uprising under the peace roadmap.
"We had a very successful summit Aqaba (Jordan) in which the parties committed themselves to fight terrorism and pursue to road to peace," said Rice.
"Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas understands, and made clear to everyone at the summit that he understands, that the future of the Palestinian people rests in a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine live in peace and security side by side," she added.
"We believe he is committed to that."
Palestinian hardline groups carried out their deadly attack today in brazen defiance of Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas' call for an end to the armed Intifada made at last week's peace summit in Jordan.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed when three militants opened gunfire on an army position at the Erez crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip before being gunned down themselves.
Bureau Report