Powell restricts his envoy's mission to Intifada halting, it is originally a proposal of Sharon

The mission of the new American envoy to the region can be summed up by one thing, that is the halting of violence by the two parties without preconditions. This is to pave the way to start talks, which are likely to be without preconditions.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell, although he approved Mitchell's report as the basis for any solution, but he wanted to separate it from the halting of violence. This means that he approves Sharon's viewpoint which says that no talks can be held with the Palestinians, unless they halt violence.

However, the envoy's concentration on the freezing of settlements, without stressing that settlement activities must be terminated and that the settlements which were already built are illegal, as if he meant that those settlements are legitimate.