Source: Ha'aretz
May 07, 2007
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was due to visit Israel in mid-May, but has now reportedly canceled her trip because of turmoil threatening to unseat Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Rice was reportedly coming to the Middle East to pressure Israel and the Palestinian Authority into committing to abiding by a US-formulated document meant to push forward the land-for-peace process.
The document expects Israel to dismantle security posts in Samaria and Judea that are necessary for Israelis’ security. Israel is not prepared to do this.
It also requires the PA to clamp down on the firing of Kassam rockets from the Gaza Strip. The PA is not prepared to do this.
Olmert’s continued tenure in office is unsure in the wake of the Winograd Commission’s findings into the failed way in which he executed last summer’s war against the Lebanese Hizb’allah.
Rice apparently does not want to expend diplomatic capital on a potentially ex-prime minister, and will now wait for things to quiet down before announcing a new date for her trip to the region.