Powell to visit the region
The Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath said yesterday that the US secretary of state Colin Powell will arrive next week to the West Bank to meet with the new Palestinian leadership.
Shaath said that Powell will arrive from Ramullah and probably Gaza on November 23 and meet with the Palestinian officials, giving no further details over this visit.
In a different track, the secretary general of the Arab league Amr Moussa said that the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon lacks the "political desire" to abide by the Roadmap which implies the foundation of the Palestinian state by the fall of 2005.
In a televised statement to the BBC, Moussa stressed the commitment of the Palestinians and the Israelis to the Roadmap will be conducive to the establishment of a Palestinian state within the set period of time.
