Powell reaffirms U.S. commitment to full Mitchell report
Palestine-USA, Politics, 6/29/2001

US Secretary of State Colin Powell reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the Mitchell report "in all of its aspects and elements" and called for an end to violence in the region so that the task of "restoring confidence and trust" between Israelis and Palestinians can begin.

"With that restoration of confidence and trust, we can move forward as quickly as possible in accordance with the timeline that we will establish between the parties to get to what we are all anxious to get to: final status negotiations under the provisions of the appropriate U.N. Resolutions," he said.

During a joint press availability with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat in Ramallah June 28, Powell thanked the Palestinian leader for "assurance of his efforts to continue to do everything possible" to end the violence.

Powell pledged his "best efforts" to open lines of communication between the two sides and ease restrictions so that "people can get to their workplaces."

"I am very mindful of the difficulties under which the Palestinian people have been living in recent months. We want to move as fast as possible to restore a more normal life for the Palestinian people," Powell said.

In response to a question, Powell said that as the parties begin the confidence-building measures called for in the Mitchell plan, he anticipated that there would be a need for observers to monitor the situation at friction points and make independent assessments of events.

"Now what the nature of that monitoring or observer regime might look like, who might be members of it, we have not yet come to any conclusion on that. But I think there is clear understanding of the need for some kind of monitoring observer function performed by some group."

Meantime, Powell said he and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon discussed a seven-day period of calm followed by a six-week cooling off period, after which the parties would move to confidence building measures and final status negotiations.

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem June 28 during a joint press availability with Sharon, Powell said that the actions of Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat would be evaluated during the seven-day period of quiet. Powell also noted that it was up to Israel to decide when the seven day period would commence.

"...since they (Israel) are the ones most directly involved, they are the ones who are so deeply concerned about the level of violence which is taking the lives of so many people, they will, at the end of the day, have to make a judgment as to whether or not it is quiet...So, even though many of us will be watching now that it is an announced idea, concept, it is the Prime Minister who bears ultimate responsibility as to what direction his country will move into in with respect to the beginning of the Mitchell Committee sequence."

On the issue of monitors or observers in the region, Powell said the idea was in the context of "of what the two sides might decide to within their own resources or whatever resources might be appropriate by mutual agreement."

Previous Stories:
  Powell urges further violence reduction   (6/28/2001)
  Arafat confers with Burns   (6/24/2001)
  Arafat confers with Powell   (6/20/2001)

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