US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday asked Israel to make "hard decisions" in order to achieve peace in the Middle East.

"We will ask of our partners and our friends in Israel that Israel continues to make the hard decisions that must be taken in order to promote peace and ... the emergence of a democratic Palestinian state," Rice said before meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.

"This is a time of optimism because fundamental changes are underway in the Middle East as a whole," she added.

Rice's trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories came ahead of a historic summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas due in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Tuesday.

The summit will also be attended by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Shortly after arrival, Rice visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem and then ran into talks with Shalom.

She was also scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katsav.

On Monday, Rice will travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah to meet Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.

(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2005)