Belgium ? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Palestinians on Monday to quickly resume peace talks with Israel, suspended in protest over an Israeli military offensive that killed more than 100 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Despite the violence, she said a deal to end the six-decade conflict is still possible before President Bush leaves office.

“I’m hopeful that we can get through this current situation and get back to negotiations,” Rice said as she headed to the Mideast for meetings that amount to a rescue mission for a peace push Bush launched last fall.

Gaza and the Palestinian leadership split that underlies the crisis are the largest potential deal-killers for Bush’s goal to sign a peace treaty before the close of his term in January.

The crisis comes on top of the usual list of obstacles that have spiked previous peace attempts.

“I continue to believe that they can get to a deal by the end of the year if everyone’s got the will to do it,” Rice said.