Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Saturday with Palestinian Interior Minister Gen. Nasr Yousef in the West Bank town of Ramallah. An Interior Ministry statement said the two sides discussed efforts to implement Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' decision to unify the Palestinian security services and to develop their work. The minister also briefed Rice on Palestinian preparations to take control of the territories from which Israel says it will withdraw. The statement said that Yousef affirmed the Palestinian Authority's insistence on "controlling the security situation and to stop the armed chaos in order to provide security and safety for the Palestinians and to protect the PA's commitments." It added that Rice reiterated the U.S. administration's support for the PA's efforts in restoring security in the Palestinian territories. The statement said the minister also told Rice that Israel should stop its "aggressive measures, collective punishment, settlement activities and the construction of the racist separation barrier." Yousef reportedly said such Israeli measures obstructed the restoration of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.