Rice urges Israel not to seal Gaza after pullout

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israel yesterday not to keep the Gaza Strip sealed off from the outside world after its planned withdrawal, echoing a key Palestinian concern.

On a hastily arranged mission to preserve a truce shaken by violence and ensure militant attacks do not hamper Israel's pullout next month, Rice repeated praise for Palestinian efforts to improve security but said more needed to be done.

Her clearest statement yet supporting the Palestinian demand for freedom of movement from Gaza followed a meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank - the other occupied territory the Palestinians want for their state.

"When the Israelis withdraw from Gaza, it cannot be sealed or isolated... with the Palestinian people closed in after the withdrawal," Rice told a news conference.

"We are committed to connectivity between Gaza and the West Bank and we are committed to openness and freedom of movement for the Palestinian people," she said.

Israel has said it will keep control of Gaza's air and sea space for security reasons, though troops are expected to leave the border with Egypt. There is no Israeli agreement yet on how the Gaza Strip and West Bank might be linked.

In shuttle diplomacy over three days, Rice urged Israelis and Palestinians to hammer out agreements on how to manage Gaza during and after the pullout but achieved no breakthroughs.

She may return before the mid-August withdrawal to push for results. "She would be available," a senior US official said.

Washington sees Israel's withdrawal from all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four of the 120 in the West Bank as a step towards reviving peace talks.

Palestinians welcome the move, but fear Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will strengthen the Israeli hold on the West Bank under what he calls "disengagement" from conflict.

Palestinian officials told Rice Israel had not done enough to discuss key aspects of the plan. "Co-ordinating the Israeli withdrawal from the outset is extremely vital," Abbas said.

Before leaving the region, Rice, who met Sharon on Friday, was scheduled to meet Israel's defence minister and other top officials late yesterday.

She planned to push them for closer co-ordination, which was dealt a blow this month by the worst outbreak of violence since the two sides agreed to a ceasefire in February. The violence ebbed after Rice announced her trip last week.

Rice said Israelis and Palestinians still "need to provide answers to each other", but her general tone was upbeat.

Senior US officials said the sides could in the next few days clinch deals on what to do both with the rubble from demolished settlements with settlers' assets, such as greenhouses, left behind.

A senior Palestinian official said the Palestinian Authority had rejected a proposal from Rice to have the government buy greenhouses in Gaza settlement for $14 million, a sum that would then be deducted from US aid given to the Palestinians.

"We told Dr Rice that we view this as compensation to the settlers at the expense of the Palestinian people," the official said. "If they continue to insist on this point, we will ask them to demolish the greenhouses."

Another Palestinian official complained that Rice had not brought answers from Israel about border crossings, the airport and safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank and urged the United States to influence its key ally.

An Israeli official said Israel would show flexibility if Abbas did more to stop gunmen.

"The big elephant in the room is security and what the Palestinians are doing about it," the official said. Israel's main concern is that militant attacks do not hamper the Gaza withdrawal while security forces are also coping with resistance from settlers and mass protests by their supporters.

Abbas faces a challenge from powerful militant groups like Hamas, even though they have agreed to the truce.

Some 8,500 settlers would leave Gaza, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, but only a few hundred of more than 230,000 settlers will be removed from the West Bank, where they live alongside 2.4 million Palestinians.