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Powell: U.S. wants Palestinian
state
By Anwar Iqbal
From the
International
Desk
Published
4/19/2002 11:18 PM
WASHINGTON, April 19 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Friday
again assured Palestinians that his goal is a Palestinian state alongside
Israel and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said there could be no peace
in the Middle East without accepting "painful compromise."
The two leaders met in Washington to continue their quest for peace after a
10-day visit by Powell to the region failed to end the violence that has
already caused hundreds of deaths in the region.
"There will be a state for the Palestinian people living side by side in
peace and harmony with a Jewish state called Israel, of course," said Powell
after his talks with Peres.
"We are convinced ... there is no alternative for peace, that it is
impossible to achieve peace without compromise, including painful compromise,"
responded Peres.
Amid growing criticism in Arab capitals of strong U.S. support for the
Israeli position, the State Department appeared to be reassuring its Arab
allies that it would not abandon the Palestinians to please the Israelis.
Powell also conveyed these assurances to Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib
ben Yahia when he met him in Washington earlier Friday.
U.S. officials indicated that President Bush is likely to give a similar
message next week to King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Crown Prince Abdullah of
Saudi Arabia when they visit the U.S. capital.
Bush, who earlier this week annoyed several Arab leaders earlier this week
by calling Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a man of peace, also spoke of
giving a chance to Palestinians.
While touring a secretarial service training facility in Greenbelt, Md.,
President Bush said: "A peaceful situation requires that there be opportunity
for the Palestinians, peace for the Israelis. I think it's very important for
all of us as we work toward a vision of peace to understand that we must
provide hope where there is no hope, provide an opportunity where there seems
to be no opportunity."
But the Bush Administration's new message for the Arabs was more clearly
explained by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher at a briefing before
the Powell-Peres talks.
"We are hearing from friends in the Arab world that they want to see the
U.S. commitments sustained, and we can tell them the U.S. commitment is there.
It will be sustained," said Boucher.
"We'll continue to meet with and work with our friends in the Arab world.
We'll continue to work with the Israelis. We'll continue to meet with the
Palestinian Authority and its leadership, Chairman Arafat, to try to move
forward down this path that we laid out."
During his 10-day stay in the Middle East, Powell met with Arafat twice,
declaring that the United States and Israel would have to deal with him as the
representative of the Palestinian people.
After his talks with Peres in Washington, Powell said he and the Israeli
foreign minister also talked about involving the international community "to
assist with humanitarian relief, reconstruction and economic activity" in the
Palestinian territories, "once we get to that point."
Despite Peres' desire to look for compromises to end the violence, chances
for a truce still remain as bleak as they were during Powell's visit to the
region last week.
Even in their brief remarks to the press, the two leaders focused on
different issues. Powell said he was "anxious to see the operation currently
under way (in the West Bank) concluded so that we can move forward with
security discussions again."
But Peres appeared more concerned about building an international consensus
on how to end this conflict. "If there will be disagreement between Europe and
the United States and Russia, or disagreement between the United States and
the United Nations (over the Middle East), we shall feel it in the region," he
warned.
Differences have emerged between the United States and Europe over the
Middle East since Israel moved into the Palestinian areas earlier this month,
with the United Nations also differing from Washington's unequivocal support
to Israel.
Aware of the shortcomings of international efforts to end the crisis, both
Powell and Peres spoke in broad terms, expressing their desires for peace
rather than suggesting concrete measures.
Powell spoke of accelerating the political process "so that we can
substitute hope for hopelessness, so that young people can see that there is a
future for them."
Disagreeing with those who have described Powell's recent trip to the
Middle East as a failure, Peres said he believed that the visit had helped
harmonize the international mind and "tranquilized" Israel's northern border
with Syria.
"The tension reached a very dangerous point. It was almost like destroying
the last hope for a controlled situation in the Middle East ... . Since the
visit of the secretary to Syria, we can see now a quiet north ... . This is
again a tangible achievement."
He said during the visit Powell also clarified the demands that were put to
all sides.
"The secretary spelled it out in unmistakable terms. Some answers were
given, mostly by us. Some answers were not given, and they still are awaiting
the right opportunity."
Peres hoped that the United States would soon send a representative to the
Middle East and Powell would visit the region again because, "We cannot permit
a lull in the situation ... . We expect the continuation of the diplomatic
security, economic and humanitarian activities."
He said he also hoped that Washington would soon nominate "somebody to have
a look how to offer immediate help to the Palestinian people, economically and
otherwise."
The Israeli foreign minister also spoke of the American, U.N. and Saudi
visions of peace for the Middle East, adding that "all those visions can be
linked and keep the Middle East busy not just in exchanging fire, but in
comparing notes."
He said that despite "some more warning of terror," Israel should not fall
into the trap of just handling the situation militarily," but should also
offer "a parallel line for negotiations and hope."
"Our aim is not victory in the military sense but peace in the political
meaning."
Asked if the current situation could threaten the ruling alliance of
moderates and hardliners in Israel, Peres said: "Compared to the alternatives,
the dove will continue to fly. Let's distinguish between the declared
positions and the real ones. We are convinced, right and left in Israel, there
is no alternative for peace, that it is impossible to achieve peace without
compromise, including painful compromise.
"And the time that is available is not as long as people think. We are
ready to move energetically ahead."
Peres arrived in Washington Thursday evening after similar talks in Poland.
Since Israel has a large number of Jewish immigrants from Poland, including
Peres, the visit also had a symbolic importance for the Israeli foreign
minister.
Copyright � 2002 United Press International
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=19042002-053031-8649r
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