US troubled by assassination of Hamas leader: Powell

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 29, 2004

US troubled by assassination of Hamas leader: Powell

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US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that the United States was troubled by Israel's assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin because there will be consequences out of such actions.

"We were troubled by this assassination, because we are concerned about the consequences of the assassination," Powell said in an interview with CBS's "Face The Nation" program.

The secretary urged Israelis and Palestinians to end the cycle of violence but put the onus on the Palestinians to fight terror.

"We have said to both parties this is a time to end this cycle -- people don't like to say it's a cycle, but I'm afraid that's what it is. It's time to end this," he said.

"But it has to begin with greater effort on the part of the Palestinians to bring terror under control," he added.

Powell accused Hamas of being a terrorist organization but did not repeat the US position that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Israeli forces killed Yassin and seven others in a missile attack on Monday last week. Hamas, a Palestinian militant group also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, has vowed to revenge.

Source: Xinhua

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