It's Israel's call on violence, says Powell

TEL AVIV - United States Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Israel yesterday, saying it would be up to Israel to decide when Israeli-Palestinian violence has eased enough to go ahead with a US plan to resume peacemaking.

Powell flew in from Egypt for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

The US Government is spearheading efforts to end nine months of bloodshed which has killed about 600 people. Since a fragile US-brokered truce took effect on June 13 the overall level of violence has dropped significantly.

However, signs of a US-Israeli rift emerged when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met President George W. Bush in Washington.

Sharon told Bush that he demanded 10 days of total calm with the Palestinians before moving ahead with US plans to push forward peace efforts. Bush sounded more flexible, insisting that the "cycle of violence must be broken" and saying there was some progress in reducing clashes between the parties.

In Alexandria, Powell told a news conference after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak: "We've had some quiet over the last several days.

"Nobody is claiming that the level of violence is down where anybody could say it was either realistic or zero ... But at the end of the day it is Mr Sharon who will make that judgment.

"Mr Sharon has been quite clear. He is seeking absolute quiet and by that he means absolute quiet. President Bush was speaking yesterday of a realistic level of violence, something that makes it clear to all sides that there has been a change, that the cycle of violence has been broken," he said.

"But the real key to this is that at the end of the day it is the parties that will have to decide whether there is an adequate level of violence, an adequate level of quiet in order to move forward," Powell added.

Efforts to halt the violence were being watched anxiously by the two sides' Middle Eastern neighbours.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, visiting France, accused Sharon of pushing the Middle East towards war.

"Syria does not want a war and neither do the other Arab countries ... but Israeli behaviour is going in the direction of war," Assad said.

Powell, speaking to reporters during the flight from Washington, played down expectations for the trip, his second to the Middle East in four months.

Accompanied by US Middle East envoy William Burns, he said he was bringing no new proposals beyond those of the US-led Mitchell committee on stopping the violence and renewing peace efforts.

The Palestinians erupted in revolt over Israeli occupation last September after peace talks stalled.

Since then at least 466 Palestinians, 118 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed. This includes eight Palestinians and six Israelis killed in the two weeks since the truce took effect.

Bush told reporters he was sending Powell to the region to "make sure there is a realistic assessment of what is going on."

The comment caused Israeli media to question whether the President regarded Sharon's view of the situation - and his calls for a complete cessation of violence in a region that has known little peace - as unrealistic.

Sharon acknowledged to reporters that he and the President did not see eye to eye on the issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but said reports of a rift were untrue.

Senior Arafat aide Ahmed Abdel-Rahman said the Palestinians "appreciate the objective and balanced position that President George W. Bush expressed in his meeting with Sharon."

- REUTERS

Feature: Middle East

Map

UN: Information on the Question of Palestine

Israel's Permanent Mission to the UN

Palestine's Permanent Observer Mission to the UN

Middle East Daily

Arabic News

Arabic Media Internet Network

Jerusalem Post

Israel Wire

US Department of State - Middle East Peace Process