US continues appeasement and 'understanding' of Israel's inhuman practices; blames resistance and the oppressed
Palestine-USA, Politics, 6/21/2003

US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Jerusalem June 20 and said the United States expects Israeli, Palestinian and Arab leaders to meet the commitments they made at Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheik but also called for patience in the wake of renewed violence.

"It's only been two weeks since Aqaba," said Powell, speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon June 20. "Tragically, in the first week after Aqaba, we saw terrorists come forward to try to derail everything. This was not a surprise to anyone at Aqaba; we knew that those who were most threatened by this, those who do not want to see two people living side by side in peace would act, and they did. And they acted in a terrible, tragic way. We have to punch through that."

Powell said terrorists and their actions "will not be allowed to deter us" from seizing new opportunities for peace. He said he was encouraged by steps Israel has taken to release some Palestinian prisoners and dismantle outposts in the occupied territories.

"[T]hese efforts need to continue along with intensive security cooperation with the Palestinians in order to directly confront the threat of terror - to bring terror to an end permanently," he said.

The secretary said he would urge Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to move "very quickly" to implement security reforms and present specific plans for the security of Gaza and Bethlehem, which the Israeli army may withdraw from.

"The United States will stand at his side as he takes steps, courageous steps, to create new institutions and a prospect for better life for Palestinians," said Powell. "The pace and urgency of our work needs to be maintained in order to capitalize quickly and decisively on this moment that history has given to us."

Powell also said that it was no longer possible to separate the militant wing of the Hamas terror organization from its political or charity sections.

"The enemy of peace has been Hamas, especially over the last two weeks," he said. "I don't think it is possible any longer to separate it out into various pieces. The funding is fungible, the leadership takes credit and despite whatever charitable or other social good these organizations may perform."

Hamas, he said, must know "they will not succeed; they will not prevail; they will be dealt with."

Powell also called upon Israel to differentiate between innocent Palestinians and "ticking bombs," saying that while he understood there were occasions when individuals needed to be intercepted in order to save lives, the Israelis should also bear in mind the consequences to peace efforts.

"[W]e can understand the need to intercept such a terrorist and deal with that individual and make sure that innocent lives are not lost. When one goes beyond that and expands those kinds of activities to individuals or to situations where it might not be a "ticking bomb," then, as we have discussed, the consequences of such action and how they play into our broader efforts for peace must be taken into consideration," he said.



Turning to Syria, Powell described Syrian actions against terrorist groups operating out of Damascus as "totally inadequate," and said the Bush administration would continue to press Syrian authorities and ask others in the international community to do likewise.

"Syria can either be a contributing member to this process, or continue to be a terror-supporting regime that does not want to be a part of this process, in which case there will consequences for such action in terms of inability to have a more positive relationship with the United States," said Powell.

Previous Stories:
  Israel continue killings of Palestinian opposition and resistance leaders; US criticizes Hamas for ending talks with Abbas   (6/7/2003)
  Bush vows to support Israeli, Palestinian, Arab peace efforts   (6/5/2003)
  Al-Aqaba summit: Bush reiterates support for Palestinian state, Israel's security, enforcement of Roadmap implementation   (6/5/2003)

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