US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday evening praised Israel's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, saying it is crucial that the withdrawal is not accompanied by attacks.

Rice made the remarks upon her arrival at Jerusalem for a two- day visit to Israel, designed to rescue the shaky Israeli- Palestinian truce and guarantee the pullout process.

It is her third visit to the region in this year. She is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Friday and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday.

Praising Sharon's decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, Rice said, "He made the most important decision he could have made. This is a real effort to advance a true peace in the Middle East."

Before meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Rice said the most important element of the Gaza pullout for Israel is increased security.

She spoke of "the need to resist any effort by terrorists to destroy this moment of hope" for Palestinians and Israelis.

Standing next to Rice before their talks, Shalom said Israel " needs the assistance of our friends in this matter to combat terror, first and foremost the assistance of Rice and the American administration."

Rice arranged the quick visit to the Middle East after an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber blew himself up last week in Netanya, killing five Israelis.

The attack was followed by salvos of dozens of rockets and mortars from Gaza, which led Israel to mass troops on the border and threaten an invasion.

The disengagement, which demands a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank, is seen in Washington as a key component of American foreign policy in the Middle East.

Source: Xinhua