WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that a "two-state solution" in the Middle East is in jeopardy and described a narrow window of opportunity to push Israel and the Palestinians toward peace.
In a House hearing, Rice said a forthcoming peace conference in Annapolis, Md., is needed to give hope to moderate Palestinian forces. She blamed Iran for fanning flames in the region, including what she called "troubling" new support for Hamas militants.
"Our concern is growing that without a serious political prospect for the Palestinians that gives to moderate leaders a horizon that they can show to their people that indeed there is a two-state solution that is possible, we will lose the window for a two-state solution," Rice said.
Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked whether the Bush administration was doing enough to pressure Egypt to crack down on Hamas sympathizers and whether Bush was calling for the peace conference to salvage his political legacy.
Rice dismissed suggestions that the conference was a political ploy.
"There are probably easier foreign-policy tasks to take on than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," she said. "The timing comes down to what it is we need to do to give moderate forces in the region a boost and to deal a blow to forces of extremism."
The conference has not been scheduled but should occur by year's end, she said.
She said the administration will ask Congress for more money to support the Palestinian government.
She did not disclose the amount.
The State Department announced Wednesday that Rice will return to Israel and the West Bank early next month for more talks ahead of the peace conference.
The trip will be her second to the region inside of a month.
Israel's prime minister, EhudOlmert, told his parliament that he hoped the U.S.-sponsored conference would mark the beginning of the end of his country's conflict with the Palestinians.
"I don't know if the time of peace is yet ripe," Olmert said in Jerusalem. "But I know that it is my duty as the prime minister of Israel to do everything in order to promote that time and at least try and bring it closer."
In discussing Iran, Rice said the administration shares Congress' goal of imposing tougher penalties.
But, she said, a multilateral approach is necessary, and she urged lawmakers to work with the administration.
Last month, the House passed, by a 397-16 vote, legislation aimed at blocking foreign investment in Iran, in particular its lucrative energy sector. The bill, sponsored by Lantos, DCalif., would bar the president from waiving U.S. penalties.
Rice was asked whether the administration is considering a military strike in Iran and if Vice President Dick Cheney is leading the charge. The U.S., she said, is committed to diplomacy but will not rule out any option.
"Frankly, the international community has to get a lot tougher if it's going to get resolved diplomatically," she said. "The Iranians are not a state, I don't think, that will change their behavior just through talking to them."
Rice also acknowledged that the United States mishandled the case of a Canadian engineer seized by U.S. officials and taken to Syria, where he and the Canadian government say he was tortured.
Rice said the Bush administration has told Canada "that we will try to do better in the future."
"We do not think that this case was handled as it should have been. We do absolutely not wish to transfer anyone to any place in which they might be tortured," she said.
When asked whether the U.S. relied on diplomatic assurances from Syria that the engineer, Maher Arar, would not be tortured, Rice said she would respond later because her memory of certain details "has faded a bit."
Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen, was detained by U.S. immigration agents on Sept. 26, 2002, as he stopped in New York en route home from a vacation.
Days later, he was sent by private jet to Syria where, according to Canadian officials, he was tortured.
After nearly a year in a Syrian prison, he was released without charges and returned to Canada.
The Canadian government has apologized to Arar and agreed to pay him almost $10 million in compensation.
The Bush administration has not apologized. Arar's name remains on watch lists that forbid his entry into the United States.
Rice's testimony was punctuated by Iraq war protesters. As Rice entered the hearing room, one woman rushed toward her and waved her hands - painted blood red - in front of Rice's face.
The protester shouted that Rice was a "war criminal" and should be taken to The Hague, home of an international war crimes tribunal.
Rice was stoic and continued with her business as the protester was removed. Others were likewise escorted away at Lantos' behest.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 10/25/2007