Arab League wants Powell's statements translated into reality

The Arab League said it wants to see the statements made recently by US Secretary of State, Colin Powell on the Middle-East translated into reality to establish peace in the Middle-East.

Powell's statements were balanced as they defined the obligations of the Palestinians and of the Israelis alike, said Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the pan-Arab organization.

What is more important in Powell's statements are the correctly used terms of "Israeli occupation" and the "establishment of a Palestinian state" and the need to "put an end of settlements," Moussa said.

Powell's statements can be the basis for the beginning of an urgent action to put an end of the Israeli occupation and activate the creation of an independent Palestinian state, he said.

Secretary Powell, who was speaking at the University of Louisville in Kentucky on American foreign policy generally and Middle East policy in particular, stressed that the Israeli "occupation must end" and that "settlement activity must end" in Palestine.

Powell reiterated the steps Israelis and Palestinians must take to bring their conflict to an end, but was particularly clear that the goal of negotiations must be an end to occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Powell added that the United States demands an end to Israeli settlement activity, and urged both sides to take steps to "end the violence."