Abbas aide: Rice to visit West Bank on Thursday

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is coming to the West Bank town of Jericho on Thursday for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, an Abbas aide said Tuesday. Rice is accompanying US President George W. Bush this week on his trip to neighboring Jordan to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The US Embassy said it had no information on whether Rice would be meeting with Palestinian and Israeli officials while in the region. Israeli officials said they did not know whether Rice would be coming to Israel.