Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday it’s now time for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Rice made the comment during a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Bush administration is prodding Israel and the Palestinian faction Fatah to take part in U.S.-sponsored Middle East talks this fall. Rice said, “The United States sees the establishment of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution as absolutely essential for the future, not just of Palestinians and Israelis but also for the Middle East and indeed to American interests.” Rice said Israel and leaders from Fatah must agree on how and when to start formal peace talks.

Condoleezza Rice: “But it’s hard. I was standing in this room several months ago when all of the questions were: 'Would anybody be willing to talk about the core issues?' and now we’re talking about a joint document that will seriously and substantively address core issues. We’ve come quite a long way. We’ve got quite a long way to go. But we’re not going to tire until I’ve given it my last ounce of energy and my last moment in office.”