JERUSALEM, Feb 6: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday urged Israel to make "hard decisions" to advance the Middle East peace process, as she held talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"We will ask of our partners and our friends in Israel that Israel continues to make the hard decisions that must be taken in order to promote peace and... the emergence of a democratic Palestinian state," she said.

"This is a time of opportunity and a time we have to seize," Ms Rice said ahead of a landmark Middle East peace summit in Egypt on Tuesday.

Following talks with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Rice met briefly with President Moshe Katsav before a meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at his Jerusalem office.

"This is a hopeful time but it is a time also of great responsibility for all of us to make certain that we act on the words that we speak," she said as she shook hands with Mr Sharon.

She said that moves by new Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, who won elections in January, to deploy troops in the Gaza Strip and to work with Israel could herald a return to the stalled roadmap peace plan.

"All of these elements give us the possibility to get back on the roadmap and move towards President (George W.) Bush's vision ... of two democratic states living side-by-side in peace," she said. "There is much work to do," she cautioned.

She underlined her personal commitment and that of Bush to peace, while pointing out that the four powers which drafted the roadmap - the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union - stood "ready to help".

Ms Rice also called on all regional players to support the peace process and to end incitement, saying all parties must "make certain we are all doing what we can for peace".

For his part, Mr Shalom hailed a moment "of great opportunity" in the region. "The new test is of moving towards peace and not just ceremonies," the prime minister said, adding that he believed the United States had "a crucial role to play" to bring peace to the region.

Mr Abbas and Mr Sharon are to hold a summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh - the first between an Israeli premier and Palestinian Authority president in more than four years.-AFP