Israel tells Rice will ease some West Bank restrictions

By Arshad Mohammed

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel announced plans on Sunday to ease some restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, responding to calls by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to take steps to bolster peace talks.

After a meeting in Jerusalem between Rice, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Israel said it would remove about 50 "dirt roadblocks" and open a "permanent checkpoint" that obstructs the flow of travelers to the town of Jericho.

"I think it's a very good start," said Rice, who shuttled between Israel and Jordan to assess the state of U.S.-backed peace talks before President George W. Bush returns to the region in May.

Israel has pledged in the past to remove West Bank barriers but failed to do so, Western and Palestinian officials said.

"It is important to translate talk about easement measures to a reality on the ground which will enable us to achieve an easing of the suffering of our people and enable the Palestinian Authority to carry out its duties in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," Fayyad's office said in a statement.

Citing security concerns, Israel has balked at Palestinian demands to dismantle major checkpoints.

Also hampering the talks are internal divisions among the Palestinians. Abbas's Fatah movement holds sway in the West Bank while Hamas, an Islamist group officially committed to Israel's destruction, seized control of the Gaza Strip last year.

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri criticized the three-way meeting as an attempt to give a "false impression of success" in the peace talks and said Rice's visit was aimed at preventing any Palestinian reconciliation.