Trip after trip, Rice is losing her grip

The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is making her sixth trip this year to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in a bid to revive - or more accurately pretend to revive - peace talks.

Having been asked about the Jewish state's latest announcement of building and expanding some of its illegal colonies on occupied land, Rice referred to it as a "problem". Could she not have been more blunt and called Israel's actions illegal?

Even though the rest of the world has long agreed that any construction or expansion of Israeli colonies on Palestinian land is illegal, Israel has managed not only to secure American oversight but also the US' overall support, except perhaps for former president George Bush Sr, on this issue.

Those colonies constitute a major bone of contention between Palestinians and Israelis. Besides this, they make it impossible for Palestinians to even envision a viable Palestinian state.

Israel describes its latest project as the natural growth of existing communities, omitting the fact that such "communities" are illegal, hostile and pose serious threats to peace. The question of whether or not Rice will actually exert any real pressure on Israel is not even necessary since a quick look back at her work in the region confirms our suspicions.

In the past, Palestinians have fallen into the American trap of talk and no action. Now, the whole world is starting to question the blind and incomprehensible bias the US has towards Israel.

Instead of spending her trip talking to officials from both sides, Rice should spend some time going to these colonies and seeing for herself how Palestinian land is being expropriated.

Maybe she can spend some time with Palestinian families who are being forced to evacuate from their homes to accommodate the colonies' so-called natural expansions. Calling them a "problem" is nothing short of pathetic.