POWELL LAUNCHES MIDEAST PEACE PUSH:'GET STARTED,' ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS TOLD

  Artículo de Glenn Kessler en “The Washington Post” del 11.05.2003

JERUSALEM, May 10 -- Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, kicking off his first sustained involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in more than a year, tonight urged both sides to move quickly without "prolonged debate" over a peace plan backed by the Bush administration.

"There is more than enough for us to get started," Powell said.

But, after meeting with Powell, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Israel would demand stiff terms before relaxing its military hold on the occupied territories. He said that if the new Palestinian leadership merely reached a cease-fire with militant groups, as opposed to dismantling them, "I don't think that this will bring us to a better atmosphere and better future."

Powell agreed that a "cease-fire that does not deal with the fundamental issue of an armed group is not a complete solution." But he balanced his remarks with a warning to Israel that it should not attempt to use other issues -- such as demanding that Palestinians give up claims to a "right of return" to areas inside Israel, which they left when the new state was created -- to thwart initial progress on the peace plan.

Shalom's comments illustrated the difficult task ahead for Powell as he attempts to demonstrate U.S. engagement in the Middle East conflict, long sought by Europeans and the United Nations. Speaking to reporters on his plane, Powell appeared to play down prospects that the goal of the peace plan -- a viable Palestinian state by 2005 -- could be achieved as quickly as previously promised. Last June President Bush set a goal of establishing a Palestinian state within three years, but little progress has been made because the administration has refused to deal with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

Arafat has ceded some authority to a new prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Palestinians have accepted the plan, known as the road map. But the Israeli government has resisted embracing the road map, which calls for Israel to ease its military crackdown in the Palestinian territories, while the Palestinian government disarms militant groups responsible for suicide bombings.

Powell will meet separately on Sunday with Abbas and the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. Powell told reporters traveling on his plane that he would not meet with Arafat, but Arafat's presence still looms large over his visit. The meeting between Abbas and Powell was moved from Ramallah, headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, to the West Bank town of Jericho to avoid expected demonstrations by members of Arafat's Fatah movement.

While Powell's meeting with Abbas will be the first senior-level contact between the Palestinian leadership and U.S. officials in more than a year, the meeting with Sharon may be less significant. Sharon will visit President Bush later this month in Washington, and two weeks ago two key officials from the National Security Council -- a deputy national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, and the Near East senior director, Elliott Abrams -- held extensive talks with Sharon in Jerusalem.

Sharon has prided himself on his close relations with the White House and has not hidden his disdain for the State Department.

The initiative describes a three-stage process for creating a Palestinian state, starting with confidence-building steps taken by both sides. But the text, drafted by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, is vague on exactly how the process is supposed to unfold.

Powell acknowledged that the plan was controversial. But "there is solemn agreement on many elements of the road map, especially the early elements," he told reporters. "So let's get started, both sides, and not get in a prolonged debate as to the level of perfection attained in a particular document."

Sharon has suggested the road map does not fulfill the vision of Bush's speech on June 24, a notion that drew a sharp retort from Powell. "The president would not have presented the road map if he didn't think that it was consistent with his vision," Powell said.

But Powell also said the plan was "a way to get started," suggesting the administration was less wedded to the particulars if progress was achieved.

"We know what has to be done in the very first steps of the first stage, so let's get on with it," Powell said. "It's pretty clear: action on security on the Palestinian side, and on the Israeli side, doing everything . . . to ease closures, ease the difficulties that the Palestinian people have in moving around."

Israeli officials argue that any easing in the occupied territories will lead to more suicide bombings unless Palestinian militant groups are disarmed.

Nearly 800 Israelis and 2,300 Palestinians have been killed since the current Palestinian uprising began in September 2000.

One of the roadblocks to negotiations is Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Powell said Bush wants an end to "settlement activity," which is generally defined as dismantling settlements created since the start of the Palestinian uprising and halting expansion of existing settlements. Asked if that meant "now," Powell replied that in the road map, " 'now' is a little less precise, but it's clear and this is not shocking" to the Israeli government.