Rice ignores Arafat's grave

Unlike a long line of other leaders who paid some kind of homage to Arafat's grave at the entrance to the Mukata, when visiting PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), Rice's car simply pulled into the compound, passed the grave and Rice got out and walked into the building.

On the way out, she also made no acknowledgment of the grave, unlike other leaders, like EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana who laid a wreath or British Prime Minister Tony Blair who walked by and nodded.

One US official said that the question of how Rice would comport herself around the grave did not come up in preparatory meetings for the visit. "It was not an issue," he said.

The PA decided not to make a fuss about the issue to avoid marring relations with the US.

In their meeting, Abbas reiterated his commitment to the implementation of the road map and urged the US to play an active role in jump-starting the peace process.

The meeting, the first of its kind between a senior US official and Abbas since his election, was attended by Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and Minister for Negotiations Saeb Erekat.

Abbas said the PA was pinning high hopes on Rice and congratulated her on her new job. Addressing her with a wide smile on his face, he said: "You are always in the right place."

Abbas thanked US President George W. Bush for his decision to support the PA financially and for his renewed efforts to achieve peace in the region. "We hope the US, the biggest country among the Quartet, will play an active and basic role in the peace process," he said.

He also called for US backing on the issues of settlements, Jerusalem and the security fence, expressing his gratitude for Washington's opposition to the Israeli government's decision to confiscate land in east Jerusalem.

"We have and will continue to work toward fulfilling our obligations under the road map," he pledged, expressing hope that Israel would also abide by the plan.

"The road map is the only way to achieve President Bush's vision of a viable and independent Palestinian state that would exist alongside Israel in peace and security," he said.

Domestically, Abbas said he had embarked on a process of financial and judicial reforms "in order to lay strong foundations for the Palestinian state."

Rice hailed Abbas for his efforts to restore law and order and for resuming security coordination with Israel. She also praised the January 9 PA election as a positive step toward implementing major reforms.

"The Palestinian people voted for a president whose platform called for political reforms and negotiations with Israel to end the violence," she said. "In our view, this is the right path."

Rice pledged to help the PA revamp its security forces, strengthen the economy and build democratic institutions. She said the US would provide the PA with $40 million within the next three months to help rebuild infrastructure and create jobs in the private sector.

"This is a time of hope, a time we can hope for a better day for the Palestinian and Israeli people both," she said.

Rice called on both sides to carry out their obligations to the peace process, citing a "fight against terrorism" by the PA and "no unilateral changes to the status quo" on the part of Israel. She said Israel was aware of US concerns over the route of the security fence and over settlement construction.

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