Powell's mideast mission, a very strong signal, morocco

The trip US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, will make next week to the Middle East is "a very strong signal," Moroccan foreign affairs and cooperation minister, Mohamed Benaissa, told the New York Times on Friday.

Before the announcement of Powell's mission to the Middle East, "People started to plunge into despair, and if the United States does not act, nobody will do," Benaissa said.

"Sending the Secretary of State is a strong signal," he said.

US President George W. Bush on Thursday announced Powell would head to the region to work for a cease-fire and the end of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Ramallah and other Palestinian cities, and the implementation of the Tenet and Mitchell peace plans.

"He will work to implement United Nations Resolution 1402 -- an immediate and meaningful cease-fire, withdrawal of Israel troops from Palestinian cities, including Ramallah; implementation of the already-agreed-upon Tenet and Mitchell plans, which will lead to political settlement," Bush said.

The decision comes amid mounting criticism of the way the Bush administration has handled the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Arab states in particular have said the administration was not doing enough to end the surging violence: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned Bush this week that the Israeli invasion of Palestinian territories could spin out of control into a wider conflict.