Rice prepares for 3-way meeting with Israel, Palestinians

Story Highlights

• NEW: Rice: No sign so far that Palestinian unity government will change stand
• NEW: Rice met with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert on Sunday
• Secretary of state also met with Palestinian Authority President Abbas
• Trilateral meeting of Rice, Abbas and Olmert set for Monday

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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will head into meetings Monday with Israeli and Palestinian leaders despite seeing no sign that a new Palestinian government will do what world leaders have called for: renounce terrorism and recognize Israel.

Leaders of the Palestinian party Fatah support those steps, but Hamas, which has controlled the government for the past year, is staunchly against them.

Hamas' victory, and its refusal to change its stance, led the United States and European Union to cut off millions of dollars in foreign aid. (Watch why Rice's visit comes at a difficult time )

Fatah and Hamas are now working to build a unity government, but tension and fighting between the two factions has left the future of the Palestinian government unclear.

The Mideast Quartet -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- has called on the new government to renounce terror and recognize Israel, making those steps the keys for the resumption of governmental aid.

"I haven't seen anything to date that suggests this is a government that is going to meet those quartet principles, but we will see when that government is formed," Rice said. "Let's see how President Abbas deals with the new circumstances." (Watch Rice struggle to breathe life into "complicated" peace deal )

Mahmoud Abbas is the leader of Fatah and the President of the Palestinian Authority.

Rice met separately Sunday with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; she will meet with the two together Monday in Jerusalem.

U.S. government officials do not meet with leaders of Hamas, which has carried out terrorist attacks and is listed by the United States and Israel as a terrorist organization.

No progress without acceptance

"I think that eventually, one way or another, there is going to have [to] be a Palestinian government that accepts the quartet principles, because that is the only basis on which you can get a state," Rice told reporters. "It simply can't be the case that the political horizon can be built on the basis that one of the parties doesn't accept the other's right to exist."

Olmert said Sunday the Israeli and U.S. positions regarding the new Palestinian government are "completely identical."

Rice's meeting with Abbas in Ramallah, the West Bank, lasted more than two hours, most of it without the presence of aides.

Addressing reporters, Rice thanked Abbas for his "personal commitment to peace and understanding, which has led the Palestinian people to international agreements that recognize the importance of the two-state solution and all that comes along with that."

Rice said she hoped Monday's trilateral talks will "be an opportunity ... to recommit to existing agreements and begin to explore and probe the diplomatic horizon."

Abbas expressed "admiration" for Rice's diplomatic efforts and said he and Rice would discuss the political horizon and Israeli-Palestinian issues.

"Most importantly, we will discuss issues of peace," he added.

Fatah and Hamas have been locked in violent battles for months. Earlier this month in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the two sides agreed to pursue a unity government.

A key goal is to get aid dollars flowing again from the United States and the European Union. Both have continued to channel money through non-governmental organizations to assist Palestinians, but the Palestinian government has been crippled financially.

The government had already been facing severe financial difficulties under Fatah. Hamas won last year's elections largely on a promise to clean up Fatah's corruption.

"I have told the Palestinians no taxpayer dollars are going to go to the activities of a government or to a government that doesn't recognize the quartet principles," Rice said Sunday.

During Monday's trilateral talks, Olmert plans to ask Abbas whether he chose Palestinian unity over strategic peace in the region when he negotiated the Hamas-Fatah government, a senior Israeli official told CNN.

"While Israel will continue to talk to Abbas as the head of the PLO, they will not negotiate a final agreement with him while this unity government is in effect," the official said. "He can't have it both ways."

Rice said the U.S. decision on whether to deal with the new Palestinian government will be based on whether it ultimately agrees to renounce violence and recognize Israel.

"When that government is formed, we are going to make our decision on the basis of whether or not it meets the quartet principles," she added.

She indicated that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which exacerbates tensions throughout the region, is a key priority for her during the Bush administration's remaining time in office. "I am committed to this," she said.

"It takes patience, it takes perseverance, it takes getting up after a bad day and trying to make a better day, and that's what I'm going to do as long as I am secretary of state."

Rice traveled to Jerusalem after a visit to Iraq.

CNN's Elise Labott contributed to this report.