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Occupied Jerusalem: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel on Tuesday and said she would work toward resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as soon as possible.
She said, "I'm hopeful we can get through this current situation and get back to negotiations. I continue to believe that they can get to a deal by the end of the year if everyone's got the will to do it."
Rice made the comments on Tuesday after talks with Egyptian officials, including President Hosni Mubarak, in Cairo on a stopover before heading to Israel.
Rice told reporters in Cairo that Hamas is trying to wreck chances for the peace process.
She is trying to rescue peace talks after an Israeli military offensive that killed more than 100 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Flying in from Cairo where she began her regional visit, Rice was to head to the occupied West Bank for talks with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah.
She was later expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and hold talks with other senior Israeli leaders the following day.
Israel launched the offensive to stop rocket attacks by the Hamas militant groups on nearby Israeli cities. But the assault prompted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to suspend negotiations.
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