By Orly Halpern

March 30, 2008

JERUSALEM - The United States pledged yesterday to scrutinize more closely how Israel carries out its commitments to improve the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank.

"We will be verifying what it is [the Israelis] are doing and this is all aimed at trying to improve the movement and access of the Palestinian people in the West Bank," said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her second visit to Israel in three weeks.

"We want to be much more systematic about what is promised and what is actually carried out," she added.

Ms. Rice's pointed statements suggested a new willingness on the part of the United States to press Israel to fulfill the commitments it made in November at the peace conference in Annapolis. The Bush administration is eager to get the Israelis and Palestinians to prepare a draft of a final peace agreement before his arrival for Israel's 60th anniversary in May.

Peace Now spokesman Yariv Oppenheimer called the U.S. pressure on Israel "very positive."

"Sometimes you need help from your friends and without American influence things don't happen," said Mr. Oppenheimer, whose organization monitors Israeli actions in the West Bank. "Every day that Palestinian lives don't improve the next intifada is closer."

Israel was quick to respond to Ms. Rice's calls with more promises for action in the West Bank. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak presented the Secretary of State with a list of steps Israel would take to improve the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank. This included the removal of 50 roadblocks, a fraction of the some 450 it has created to block the entrances to cities, villages and neighbourhoods across the West Bank.

The Palestinians were unimpressed. "I've heard this so many times," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. "I will believe it when I see it. We hope this time they will have deeds not just words."

Israel said at the Annapolis conference it would begin to dismantle obstacles to Palestinian movement. However, no significant change has yet taken place, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz and Peace Now.

Israel commonly refers to such steps as "gestures." In a press conference yesterday in Jerusalem, Ms. Rice bristled at the word, when used by an Israeli journalist. "I would not characterize, though, what we need or what I expect to hear as 'gestures,' " she said at a joint press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. "I really do think that what we need to do is to have meaningful progress toward a better life for the Palestinian people, for the economic viability for Palestinians, even as we move toward the establishment of a state."

Arab leaders, meanwhile, renewed their offer of peace if the Jewish state withdrew from occupied lands. The decision was made yesterday at the annual Arab League summit, which was hosted by Israel's enemy, Syria.