US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Israeli leaders at the start of her latest Middle East tour, but warned she did not expect a major peace breakthrough ahead of a US-sponsored meeting next month.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice played down expectations for breakthroughs as she opened a critical round of Mideast shuttle diplomacy on Sunday and warned Israel against moves that might erode confidence in the process.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice begins a trip to Russia and the Middle East next week that will include five days of shuttling among Israeli and Palestinian officials. She will lay groundwork for the international conference on the Middle East being organized by the Bush administration.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to the West Bank town of Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The talks focused on a document on Palestinian statehood to be presented at an international peace conference in the United States, possibly in November.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the United States agrees with Israel that the Gaza Strip is a "hostile entity" now that it is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State, has arrived in Israel for the first stop on her tour of the Middle East just before the peace conference organized by the White House for November.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaves Washington Tuesday for another round of talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, leading up to a U.S.-hosted regional conference planned for November. A senior Rice aide says it is a very important moment for efforts to revive the Middle East peace process.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that stabilizing Iraq will be a lengthy process that will not end when violence in that country - and U.S. troop strength - are reduced.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend an international conference of Iraq's neighbors and others in Istanbul at the end of October. The meeting being organized by Turkish and Iraqi officials will be a follow-up to a similar ministerial-level meeting held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in May.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Israel is ready to discuss "fundamental issues" with Palestinians who are now governed by leaders accepted by the Jewish state and the West.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Palestinian leaders Thursday on the final day of her Middle East tour aimed at gaining support for a U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference later this year.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks with senior Israeli officials Wednesday to try to restore momentum to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. She came to Jerusalem from Saudi Arabia, where she obtained a qualified Saudi endorsement of the Middle East meeting the United States plans to host this autumn.