The Middle East peace process should not be derailed by the attack carried out by hardline militants on an Israel-Gaza crossing point that killed four Israelis, US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said this afternoon.
"The parties need to stay on track," Rice said on NBC television's "Meet the Press" program.
Rice said it was important for Israel and the Palestinians to continue to build on the successes forged at last week's Middle East summit, where the parties agreed to move toward dismantling Jewish settlements and ending the armed Palestinian uprising under the peace roadmap.
"We had a very successful summit ... in which the parties committed themselves to fight terrorism and pursue to road to peace," said Rice.
"There are obviously those who want to make this process stillborn," she said.