Rice says Palestinian violence no bar to talks

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that Middle East peace talks should resume despite an outbreak of violence among Palestinian factions. "It doesn't help to talk about a timetable, but it does help to talk about a commitment," Rice said after meeting with world powers for a strategy session on the Middle East. Despite that violence, "There's simply no reason to avoid the subject of how we get to a Palestinian state," Rice said after a meeting at the State Department with foreign ministers from Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.