US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returned to Washington on Sunday after a five-day visit to Africa and the Middle East.

Rice, who shuttled between Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah, where Palestinians have their headquarters, met separately with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a bid to keep the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank on track due in next month despite fresh violence.

She is expected to report the progress of her Mideast trip to President George W. Bush and the cabinet soon.

It was Rice's third visit to the Middle East since she took office at the State Department in January.

She also paid a surprise visit to Lebanon to show Washington's support for the new government, the first since Syrian forces withdrew from the country in April.

She urged the Lebanese government to disarm the Hezbollah guerrilla group in accordance with United Nations Resolution 1559.

Source: Xinhua