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"I
regret that once again we had an incident that could be an
impediment to progress," Powell
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Additional
Reporting By Mustafa el-Sawwaf, IOL Correspondent
SHUNEH,
Jordan, June 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - As U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell Sunday, June 22, regretted the
largely-condemned Israeli assassination of a Hamas leader one day
before, the Palestinian group vowed revenge.
"I
regret that once again we had an incident that could be an impediment
to progress," Powell told reporters when asked about Saturday's assassination
of Abdullah Qawasmeh, the local West Bank chief of the Hamas in
Al-Khalil (Hebron).
Speaking
at a news conference with other members of the international
diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East that drew up the
"roadmap," Powell said that the assassination is "
matter of concern" and it should not be allowed to further
complicate the implementation of the already shaky Middle East peace
plan.
"We
can understand the situation of quote 'a ticking bomb' when there is
an immediate threat that needs to be dealt with," he was quoted
by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.
"But
anything that is sort of out of that immediate definition has to be
looked at in light of the consequences it will have to our ability to
moving forward," Powell said.
Powell's
comments came two days after he called Hamas an "enemy
of peace"
after his talks with Palestinian and Israeli officials during his
stopover during the trip to Jordan.
Revenge
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"Zionist
terrorist operations will not go unpunished," Rantissi
|
The
attack, came at a sensitive time for Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas's government which was almost close to convince Hamas
and other resistance groups of agreeing a ceasefire, is expected to
further escalate the tension in the restive region.
"Zionist
terrorist operations will not go unpunished," said top Hamas
official Abdulaziz al-Rantissi who himself escaped
an Israeli assassination attempt on June 10.
The
Hamas military wing, Ezzeddin al-Qassam said its fighters launched
rockers at two Jewish settlements and an Israeli city in retaliation
for the Qawasmeh's assassination.
One
of Hamas' main demands before halting their attacks against Israeli
targets, is that the Jewish state halts its controversial policy of
assassinations.
"I
want the whole world to notice what the Palestinians suffer under
Israeli occupation, … it is a cycle of violence started from the
occupation, and it is endless," Ismail Abu Shanab told the ABC's
"This Week".
Rantissi
said the talks with Abbas would not be influenced by the latest
assassination, although he warned that "there cannot be a
dialogue at the expense of Palestinians shedding their blood."
"We
will continue to resist Zionist terrorism as if there were no dialogue
(with Abbas) and we will dialogue as if there were no Zionist
terrorism," he said.
Emerging
from his meeting with Powell Friday, June 20, Abbas told reporters
that a truce deal would be finalized "soon".
But
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, backed by Washington, has
insisted that there will not only be a ceasefire but that Palestinian
groups will be also disarmed and he praised Qawasmeh's assassination.
"I
would like to thank the security forces for last night's (Saturday)
successful and very important operation in Hebron," he said at a
Sunday cabinet meeting.
Wide
Condemnation
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|
Such
actions "do not enhance security and undermine trust and
prospects for cooperation," Annan
|
But
the attack drew criticism from Powell, as well as Arab and Palestinian
officials attending the extraordinary World Economic Forum (WEF)
meeting in Jordan.
The
representatives of the quartet - Washington, Moscow, the European
Union and the United Nations - delivered a rebuke to Israel at the
regional gathering for the Sunday attack.
"The
Quartet expresses its deep concern over Israeli military actions that
result in the killing of innocent Palestinian and other
civilians," a statement read out by United Nations Secretary
General Kofi Annan said.
Such
actions "do not enhance security and undermine trust and
prospects for cooperation," the statement said.
From
his part, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher accused Israel of
"endangering" both its own security and that of the
Palestinians, ahead of talks with his Israeli counterpart Sylvan
Shalom.
And
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath branded Israel's
assassination as a "negative and horrible" act, but said it
should not stand in the way of implementing the roadmap.
Bickering
Meanwhile,
the Palestinians and Israel continued to bicker Sunday over who should
take the first step in implementing a stalled Israeli army withdrawal
from the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem.
Although
insisting an agreement was close, Israel's Shalom laid the burden of
responsibility on the Palestinians.
"It
is up to the Palestinians to decide if they are willing to take the
territories under their responsibility," he said at the WEF,
stressing the Palestinians "have to put an end to the terrorism
and violence."
But
Palestinian Culture Minister Ziab Abu Amer fumed over Shalom's
comments.
"They're
not honest and not serious. Israel wants to maintain army posts on
Gaza's main street," he said.
"Let
them proceed to a clean withdrawal and we will manage our own internal
affairs," he said.
As
Abbas's task to rally Hamas' support for a ceasefire was made all the
more difficult by the latest killing, Sharon too faced his share of
defiance with settlers rebuilding recently dismantled outposts.
Sharon
had ordered the destruction of outposts deemed illegal by Israel as
part of efforts to implement the roadmap.
The
Israeli daily Maariv reported Sunday that "settlers
kept their promise. They set up a new wildcat settlement for each
outpost that was dismantled: 12 outposts in ten days."
The
paper said most of the 12 new outposts -- trailers on hilltops -- had
been established in the northern West Bank.
