|
U.S. Expects Restraint From Israel And Effort From Arafat
WASHINGTON, May 31 (News Agencies) - The United States called on Israeli to keep their forces in check and urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to give "100%" to end the ongoing violence as U.S.-facilitated talks between the two parties wavered, a State Department spokesman said Thursday.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell "made quite clear to Chairman Arafat he expected 100% effort to stop the violence," spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"He also asked the Israeli leader to continue to exercise restraint," said Boucher, adding that Powell had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Arafat while flying back to the United States from Europe.
"In both these calls, he asked the parties to restore effective security cooperation as a means of starting the process to implement the Mitchell committee recommendations that are designed to end the violence, restore confidence and resume negotiations," he added.
But in Jerusalem, Sharon warned Thursday that his patience was running out as another round of security talks with the Palestinians failed to make any tangible progress in quelling eight months of bloodshed in the region, other than to agree on further meetings.
Boucher said the United States was disappointed with the failure of key Palestinian officials to participate in U.S.-facilitated security talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
"As we were arranging these meetings, we understood from Chairman [Yasser] Arafat that all senior Palestinian security chiefs would attend."
"Unfortunately, we continue to be disappointed that not all the key Palestinian officials are, in fact, attending these meetings," said spokesman Richard Boucher.
The two sides agreed to hold further security talks with the aim of reducing violence, after the two abortive meetings Tuesday and Wednesday, the Israeli defense ministry said.
Boucher said the United States recognized "it's very difficult for some of these individuals and for the parties to address, but we think it's essential that both sides start the process of implementing the Mitchell committee recommendations and get on with the process of ending the violence, restoring confidence and resuming negotiations."
The committee, led by retired U.S. Senator George Mitchell, was created in Egypt in October to look into the origins of the violence that has swept the region since late September.
Among its recommendations, the commission called for a total freeze on Israeli settlement activity and for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to exercise stricter control over his security forces.
In Egypt, Burns said it would be an "enormous challenge" to see the implementation of the Mitchell report. "There's a danger that this effort will be overwhelmed by events on the ground," Burns warned.
Meanwhile in Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday welcomed Israeli President Moshe Katsav to the White House for talks on efforts on how to get the stalled Middle East peace process back on track.
The Israeli head of state emerged from the meeting saying he was "very satisfied" with the talks with Bush, whose administration is stepping up its efforts aimed at ending the violence which has claimed 570 lives, most of them Palestinian.
His comments came as sobering news on the death of top Palestinian Liberation Organization official Faisal al-Husseini, one of the most prominent fighters for the Palestinian cause, shook the Middle East.
Speaking from Brussels, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat described the death as "terrible news" and said it should be the impetus for "a greater determination to establish peace in the Middle East."
|
