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Arab-Americans Say Powell Admits Error In Calling Jerusalem Israeli Capital
WASHINGTON, March 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell admitted Tuesday to having blundered when he called Jerusalem the capital of Israel last week, a senior Arab-American leader said.
Powell "was very direct," said James Zogby after he and more than 21 other leaders of the Arab-American community met with the secretary for about 40 minutes at the State Department.
He "came right out and acknowledged what happened," said Zogby, the president of the Arab-American Institute.
"There was a mischaracterization of policy and we were all impressed with is humility and his directness and his absolute clarity in responding on what the U.S. policy is on Jerusalem."
Powell infuriated the Muslim world last week while testifying before a congressional committee when he referred to Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.
Both Israel and the Palestinians claim the holy city as a capital and long-standing U.S. policy is that Jerusalem's status must be resolved in negotiations between the two sides.
The international community does not recognize Israel's claim over the whole of Jerusalem, the Arab eastern part of which it captured and annexed in the 1967 Middle East war.
Powell's remark drew swift condemnation from Muslim capitals and sent U.S. diplomats scrambling to explain that the comment had been an off-the-cuff statement and did not indicate a change in U.S. policy.
Zogby said Powell had assured them that there was no change in U.S. policy toward Jerusalem.
"He reiterated American policy as it is," Zogby said.
Powell also addressed other concerns brought up during the meeting.
"What impressed us most was the secretary's responsiveness to our concerns, the positive tone of the meeting and the very clear sense that we had that this is a man who wants to listen, to learn from us," said Zogby.
"We've got positive responses on a number of issues," Zogby told reporters.
Powell is expected to host a group of American-Jewish leaders at the department on Wednesday, officials said.
Zogby and others in the group said they queried Powell, who made his first official solo trip abroad last month to the Middle East, on his views about Arab-Israeli peace prospects, the treatment of Palestinians, sanctions on Iraq and U.S. policy toward Lebanon.
In particular, Zogby and Khalil Jahshan, vice president of the American-Arab Anti-discrimination Committee, said they raised concerns over Israel's use of American weapons against Palestinians during the ongoing Intifada, or uprising.
"This is a question that they continue to study," Zogby said, noting Powell told them Washington took the issue "very seriously."
"My understanding is that there ... may be some movement on this very question," he said.
Palestinians maintain Israel is using sophisticated American weaponry like helicopter gunships against them in violation of U.S. law preventing such equipment from being used for anything other than defensive purposes.
Israel rejects the allegations.
Jahshan said Powell had also shown an interest in complaints over mistreatment of Arab-Americans in Israel and the Palestinian territories by Israeli security forces.
He said the group asked Powell and other U.S. officials to raise with the Israelis "the treatment of U.S. citizens of Arab origin who have been singled out for harassment."
"There hasn't been sufficient, from our perspective, protection by the U.S. diplomatic and consular services," Jahshan said, noting a "rash" of complaints from Arab-Americans who had been prevented from traveling in the region.
Powell "seemed surprised by that and he promised to take that matter up," Jahshan said.
State Department officials said Powell had "listened" closely to the concerns of the group but made no promises.
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