Powell Urges Israel End Occupation
WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) accused Israel of crippling chances for peace with the Palestinians by building homes for Jews on the West Bank and in Gaza.
Reflecting a long-held Arab view, Powell said Monday that Israel was occupying land on which Palestinians were entitled to build their own state. He also called the Arab-Israeli conflict the central problem in the region.
Unlike his predecessors in the past 28 years, Powell did not say he would go there himself to push his program with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. He is sending Assistant Secretary of State William Burns this week in his place, and retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni will be sent as Powell's special adviser.
The next chapter in the unfolding drama will be a visit to Washington in December by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) for talks with President Bush (news - web sites) and Powell.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who takes a far more conciliatory stance than Sharon, said the Bush administration's recognition of a Palestinian state ``is, in fact, already an accepted vision.''
Peres also said the Israeli government already was committed to not building new Jewish settlements on the West Bank and in Gaza ``and we would also like to put an end to the occupation.''
Sharon praised the speech, too, but stressed that all violence must cease before negotiations begin, his office said in a statement. Sharon also stressed that Jerusalem must remain the ``indivisible'' capital of Israel forever. He said he would create a team to manage negotiations for a cease-fire with Burns and Zinni.
Nabil Shaath, a leading Palestinian official, called Powell's speech positive. ``For the first time, the United States is speaking about ending Israeli occupation,'' he said. ``For the first time, they are speaking about a viable Palestinian state.''
Powell appealed to the Palestinians to curb violence and terrorism. But the thrust of his speech was directed at Israel, marking a sudden change in direction for the Bush administration. For 10 months, it has concentrated on trying to apply the brakes to 14 months of violence with cease-fire proposals.
Bush echoed that view after a Cabinet meeting Monday, and said he has worked vigorously to bring peace.
``Our objective is to convince both parties to make a conscious decision to come to the peace table and when they do so we're more than willing to help,'' he said.
But now, as it seeks Arab support in the war on terrorism, the administration is leaning on Israel to give ground.
The harshest statement in Powell's speech at the University of Louisville concerned Jewish home-building on the West Bank and in Gaza. Many Jews consider the West Bank, which they call Judea and Samaria, part of Israel, and some 200,000 live there.
``Israeli settlement activity has severely undermined Palestinian trust and hope,'' Powell said. ``It pre-empts and prejudices the outcome of negotiations, and in doing so it cripples chances for real peace and security.''
Powell said later: ``Settlement activity must stop for the sake of Palestinians and Israelis alike. The occupation must end, and it can only end through negotiations.''
Powell steered clear of the future of Jerusalem, except to say all religions should have access to the city, as they do under the Israeli administration.
Rep. Brian Kerns (news - bio - voting record), R-Ind., who watched Powell's speech on television with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), said Arafat was pleased.
``This is an opportunity to work for lasting peace throughout the world,'' said Kerns, a member of the House International Relations Committee, which is touring the Middle East.
``We cannot have a true end to global terrorism, we cannot truly have peace, until we, the United States, work for a resolution in the Middle East,'' Kerns said.
Zinni, who retired last year after being in charge of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, oversaw relief to Kurds in Turkey and Iraq in 1991 and served in a peacekeeping effort in Somalia in 1993.
Burns is a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and a career foreign service officer.
Powell said the Bush administration will stay engaged in trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. If it would help, he said, the United States might monitor and verify peacemaking efforts.
And, Powell added, ``We will work urgently with our international partners on an economic reconstruction effort to help rebuild the Palestinian economy.'' |
