Rice presses Israel on roadblocks

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday pressed Israel to ease travel restrictions on Palestinians and called Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank "particularly problematic".

But she said Washington believed an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal was still possible before US President George W. Bush leaves office in January, praising the "seriousness and depth" of negotiations.

"We continue to believe it is an achievable goal to have an agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis by the end of the year and by the end of President Bush's term," Dr Rice said after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

Negotiations on issues core to the Middle East conflict were launched at a US-hosted international conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November. Mr Abbas, at a news conference with Dr Rice, voiced his continued commitment to peace efforts. Dr Rice launched her latest two-day visit to the region on Saturday by saying she would assess Israel's steps on the ground to see if they had improved the daily lives of the Palestinians.