U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has postponed an expected visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority in which she was expected to prod both sides to carry out proposed U.S. benchmarks designed to lead to the resumption of peace talks.

Rice was due to arrive around May 15 but Israeli and Palestinian officials said the visit would be postponed due to the political crisis threatening Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack confirmed the change in plans and suggested Rice was putting off the trip because of the Israeli political turmoil.

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"It's possible that she could make a stop in the Middle East on this trip, although I would not expect, on this trip, that she would travel to Israel and the Palestinian areas," he said. "There's obviously a lot of politics in Israel that they are working through at this point but we are going to continue our efforts to advance the Israeli-Palestinian track."

It was not immediately clear when Rice would return to Israel and the Palestinian Authority or where else she may visit in the Middle East on the trip.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Monday praised the U.S. plan, which establishes a timetable for both sides to take confidence-building steps.

"The American document, which the Palestinian leadership has received, included important steps to achieve security in the Palestinian territories," Abbas was quoted as saying by the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.

The plan, Abbas said, was a first step towards "easing the suffering of the Palestinian people," WAFA reported.

The proposal calls for a timeline for "benchmark" moves, including a crackdown by Palestinian security forces on rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza and an easing of Israeli restrictions on Palestinians.

Abbas met with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas late on Monday to discuss the American proposal and the overall security situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, which leads a Palestinian unity government, rejected the U.S. plan, under which Abbas would start deploying his Fatah-dominated forces by mid-June to halt rocket fire and smuggling by Gaza militants.

"The government stressed that it did not receive the plan, pointing out that the movement of people and citizens cannot be swapped for the national rights," government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said.

Since Hamas has rejected the plan, Abbas and Haniyeh discussed the idea of a "cooling down" period instead, Abbas aide Nabil Shaath said.

Other Palestinian militant groups, including the Fatah-aligned Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, urged Abbas to reject the plan. Israel has also voiced reservations over some aspects of the blueprint.

"The U.S. plan is totally rejected. We urge President Mahmoud Abbas not to deal with it because it aims to satisfy Israel's security and cause internal tension among Palestinians," said Khaled al-Batsh, an Islamic Jihad leader.

Batsh said Islamic Jihad, which has been behind many of the rocket attacks, would hold a dialogue with Abbas on settling their differences. But he cautioned: "No one can stop resistance."

Abbas' aides said he was willing to work with the U.S. plan, albeit with amendments.

"We want it to be implemented. We hope to see the Israelis implement it," said top Abbas aide Saeb Erekat.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said he recognized the "significance of taking trust-building steps to show the Palestinian civilian population that a change is taking place."

Western diplomats said they expected Israel to agree to some of the steps in the plan and to try to negotiate changes to others.

Israel has called the proposal positive but said it could not commit to some of the benchmarks, which include removing several military checkpoints in the occupied West Bank, because of security concerns.

Abbas, in a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Gaza on Sunday, failed to persuade him to support the U.S. timeline or reach agreement on a division of security responsibilities, an official close to the talks said.

The two were to meet again Monday, when the Palestinian cabinet would also take up the issue, officials said.

The different positions highlight the fragility of a national unity government set up by Islamists and secular nationalists two months ago to end infighting.

Hamas, which leads a Palestinian unity government, has also flatly rejected the U.S. plan, under which Abbas would start deploying his Fatah-dominated forces by mid-June to halt rocket fire and smuggling by Gaza militants.

"I do not think that President Abbas lives in isolation from the Palestinian people or that he will take a decision that contradicts the Palestinian consensus, which advocated the right to resist occupation by all forms," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.

Abu Qusai spokesman of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said the U.S. proposal "should not even be discussed."