Powell urges Palestinians to respond to Israeli move

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, February 13, 2004

Powell urges Palestinians to respond to Israeli move

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US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday urged the Palestinians to respond to Israeli decision to evacuate some Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip by taking decisive actions against terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

"We have been pressing ...the Palestinian side ... to come forward with a security plan to start taking action against terrorists in a very significant and decisive way," Powell said ata hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The Israelis are now making some unilateral moves, we don't want to see a solution that is so unilateral that it doesn't really provide the kind of stability that we're looking for. But the Palestinians must move, and we've made that clear to them," hesaid, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's recent unilateral decision to dismantle 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip.

The secretary dismissed criticism that the administration has put the Middle East conflict on the back burner, saying President George W. Bush still supports the faltering Middle East roadmap peace plan.

"I can assure you it is a matter of the utmost urgency for us, because we fully understand that this conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis is the source of a great deal of theanti-American feelings that exist in that part of the world, and does affect what we're doing in Iraq, and that part of the world,"he said.

"And I would do anything to find a magic bullet to solve this one," the secretary noted. "The roadmap is still in place, still supported by the president, we're ready to act on it," he added.

Powell said that another team of US diplomats will be sent to the Middle East region within the next week or so to press Israelis and the Palestinians to move forward.

Souce: Xinhua

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