WASHINGTON, July 5: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday it was ‘high time’ for Hamas to return an Israeli soldier whose abduction has sparked Israeli retaliation in the Gaza Strip.

Ms Rice said she was calling on both the Israelis and the Palestinians to exercise restraint as a new wave of Palestinian rockets from Gaza rained down on Israeli territory, prompting return air and artillery fire from the Israeli side. But she said Hamas carried more blame for the upsurge of tensions and pressed for the soldier’s release.

“Their government, Hamas government, needs to respond to the root cause of this problem, and the root cause of this problem was the attack that took place and the Israeli soldier that was abducted,” Rice said.

“It is high time for Hamas to return that soldier. It is high time then for everybody who has any influence on Hamas to make sure that that happens, and then we can get back on track.”

Rice said it was important for the international community to rally around embattled Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas as he struggles to gain control over the territory’s infighting factions and negotiate a calm with Israel.

“We are also calling on the international community to help President Abbas, and I think that is helping — is happening — but most especially to help the Palestinian people,” Rice said.—AFP