Visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged concerned parties on Monday to solve the Palestinian-Israeli issue, stressing the status quo should be stopped.

Rice made the remarks in a press conference after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el- Sheikh.

"Israel and the Palestinians agreed to demolish homes built by Jewish settlers on land, and I saw committed parties on both sides that are doing the necessary planning," she said.

She called for wider Arab support for the Gaza pullout plan, saying "I think they will work to coordinate and make this a success, but we all have to say to those who try to disrupt the withdrawal plan that it is simply unacceptable to the international community and particularly to the Arab world."

Rice spent the past two days trying to convince Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to work together, and do it quickly.

Rice also called for a "free and fair" presidential election in Egypt, whose parliament has ratified a constitutional amendment to allow multi-candidate election, the first time in the country's history.

The top US diplomat arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh Monday morning for a brief visit to Egypt, as part of her first major Mideast tour, which has already taken her to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.

Rice's next stop will be Saudi Arabia, before attending a conference on Iraq in Brussels.

Source: Xinhua