Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    GAZA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visits to Israel and the Palestinian territories aim at granting more time for Israel to continue Judaization projects, Islamic Hamas movement said on Sunday.

    A three-way meeting among Rice, Palestinian Premier Salam Fayyad and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was held in Jerusalem on Sunday noon. For Hamas, this meeting "aims at delay to grant more time for the benefit of the Zionist entity. "The time is also useful "to continue the project of making the Zionist entity a Jewish one," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoomin a written statement. He added that the U.S. administration supports this project.

    Rice has met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert since she arrived in the region late Saturday. she is heading for the West Bank to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In November, Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)resumed peace negotiations at a U.S.-hosted conference. Rice regularly visits the region to follow up the dull progress of the talks.

    But Barhoom says Rice's visits "come to cover the failure of the American and Israeli talks with President Abbas, especially the last discussions between Abbas and President George W. Bush. "The Hamas spokesman was referring to Abbas' visit last week to Washington where he met Bush who "snubbed all his promises of taking steps in support of the Palestinian people's rights before his (Bush) term ends."

    Barhoom concluded that his movement, which rules Gaza Strip, "doesn't welcome such meetings and visits and doesn't build any hope on them."