U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is traveling to New York on Tuesday to meet with Arab ministers and gather support for a U.S.-backed cease-fire plan for Gaza, a senior State Department official said. Rice is also expected to represent the Bush administration during a U.N. Security Council meeting discussing a resolution calling for a ceasefire. Rice will reportedly meet with U.S. allies and several foreign ministers from Arab states to bolster support for a U.S. ceasefire proposal that calls for an end to rockets being fired into Israel, the demolition of tunnels used for smuggling and the reopening of Gaza's borders. Rice plans to discuss the situation with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the foreign minister of Turkey and others arriving at the U.N.
