By Sue Plemming
Jerusalem - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday she believed a ceasefire to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon could be forged this week.
Washington has refused to call for an immediate truce to end the 20-day conflict, but an Israeli raid on Sunday that killed 54 civilians triggered worldwide demands for an end to the Jewish state's war against Hezbollah.
The attack on the southern village of Qana prompted Lebanon to call off scheduled talks with Rice on Sunday and tell her she was not welcome until an unconditional ceasefire was in place.
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'Lasting settlement' Rice stayed on in Jerusalem and won a 48-hour suspension from Israel of its aerial bombardment of south Lebanon. Israel also agreed a 24-hour window for residents to leave the battered area and let aid workers reach the worst hit villages.
"This morning, as I head back to Washington, I take with me an emerging consensus on what is necessary for both an urgent ceasefire and lasting settlement. I am convinced we can achieve both this week," she told reporters in Jerusalem.
There was no immediate Israeli government reaction to her comments.
The United Nations Security Council deplored Sunday's bombing, the deadliest single attack in Israel's nearly three-week-old war, but did not demand an immediate ceasefire, despite UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's call for one.
US State Department spokesperson Adam Ereli said Israel's decision to suspend air strikes would allow a probe into the Qana attack, which occurred at a time of heightened global alarm at the hundreds of civilian casualties in the war.
Civilian casualties He also said Israel had the right to "take action against targets preparing attacks against it", a restatement of US policy that Israel has the right to defend itself.
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