Little progress towards peace in Middle East

JERUSALEM - American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice yesterday wound up the first American-chaired Israeli-Palestinian summit in over three years without any clear evidence that she had brought a substantive peace process any nearer.

Both she and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert used the meeting to warn Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel and the United States would not lift its boycott of the Palestinian Authority unless a new Saudi brokered Hamas-Fatah signs up to the conditions set almost a year ago.

But she showed little sign of having extracted, particularly from Israel, any commitment to outlining a deal that could lead to discussions on issues such as Jerusalem, borders and refugees.

- INDEPENDENT