Rice Visits Former Militant Stronghold

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Rice Visits Former Militant Stronghold
November 08, 2008
Associated Press

JENIN, West Bank - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited this former West Bank militant stronghold Saturday to highlight Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' law-and-order campaign, seen as one of the few successes in slow-moving Mideast peace efforts.

Rice has made frequent stops in the West Bank in recent years, but during most visits she spent just a few hours in Abbas' walled government compound in the town of Ramallah, near Jerusalem.

Saturday's trip took her to the northern end of West Bank. Despite the effort to showcase improved security in the West Bank, her motorcade took a roundabout route through Israel, rather than straight through the West Bank, to reach Jenin.

Her first stop was Jenin's Khalil Suleiman Hospital, where she inaugurated a ward renovated with $700,000 in U.S. aid. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Rice toured the maternity ward and greeted nurses. Looking into a room, she said: "Brand new babies, nothing better."

The hospital was closed to visitors Saturday, and the access road was sealed off.


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