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Palestinians Appeal for Political Solution ahead of Powell's Visit
PALESTINE, June 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies)- Stepping deeper into the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell heads to the Middle East on Tuesday.
Powell's tour will take him to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia for discussions on the Middle East crisis.
Palestinians lay all their hopes on Powell's upcoming visit, expecting him to bring about a new round of diplomatic steps and Israeli commitments that will placate the Palestinian street, Israeli daily, Ha'aretz said.
A Palestinian Cabinet member said Sunday that it would be difficult for Arafat to continue efforts without any diplomatic achievements for the Palestinians, the paper added.
The Palestinian official was speaking of Israeli commitments to lift the closure from places where it is still being enforced, to withdraw its armed troops to its pre-Intifada posts, to freeze settlement construction and return to diplomatic negotiations.
The Palestinian official made clear that these diplomatic steps would not be perceived as "gifts" from Israel to the Palestinians in return for the cease-fire, but rather as a signal to the Palestinian people that life is returning to normal, without collective punishment and without attacks against civilians.
Earlier, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat told U.S. Middle East special envoy, William Burns, who was in the region Friday to prepare for Powell's visit, that a prolonged cooling-down period without any diplomatic progress would lead to tension in the Occupied Territories that could become uncontrollable and break down the entire process.
Palestinian Cabinet member, Nabil Sha'ath and Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Maher, also relayed a similar message to Powell when they met him in Washington last weekend.
Egyptian political analyst and political science professor at Cairo University, Abdel Sattar Kasem, said, "Israel wants to convince the U.S. administration to launch a large military attack on the Palestinians," adding that, "Powell's visit aims at exercising pressure on the Palestinians to get back to security measures that had been agreed before."
"Powell has no political initiatives," Kasem added.
Meanwhile, Hamas resistance movement leader, Ismail Abou-Shanab, cast doubts on the outcome of the visit.
"We don't count much on Powell's visit," said Abou-Shanab. "We don't expect it to move the Palestinian cause one step forward in light of the notorious influence of the Zionist entity on the U.S."
Palestinian Legislative Council member and Fatah resistance movement leader, Hossam Khodr, emphasized that Powell's tour is merely aimed at providing security for Israel.
Khodr added that the ceasefire exists merely on paper and has not been at all enforced by the Israeli side, which, moreover, sustains its blockade on occupied Palestinian territories.
"Not only has nothing changed on ground, but Sharon's administration has also started assassinating Palestinian resistance activists after receiving the green light from the Israeli cabinet," he added.
Earlier this week, U.S. President George W. Bush said Powell's visit is designed to reinforce a shaky ceasefire negotiated by CIA Director George J. Tenet, the Washington Post newspaper reported.
Dispatching Powell to the Middle East, on the heels of the Tenet mission, took the Administration closer to the intense, high-level involvement that typified the Clinton administration and that Bush criticized during the campaign.
The visit comes despite early vows by Bush administration officials that they would take a lower profile in resolving the conflict, the paper added.
Bush Administration officials and others say the Administration has realized that the violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories could endanger a whole range of U.S. priorities in the region, including the isolation of Iraq, the stability of moderate Arab states and the possible cultivation of Iranian reformers, the paper added.
The Powell visit will also present an opportunity for the Administration to have high-level contact with Arafat, whom they have made a point of not inviting to the White House.
The paper also reported that in agreement with many American Jewish groups, Bush's administration has decided not to host Arafat in Washington until Palestinian resistance dies down.
Inviting Arafat to the White House "sends a message," said Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). "It's something he wants, it's something he can achieve, but he's going to have to earn it," the paper reported.
During the Clinton Administration, Arafat visited the White House frequently, in addition to long negotiating sessions at the Wye River plantation and at Camp David in Maryland.
On the other hand, hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who arrived in Washington Sunday evening, is visiting for the second time in three months to discuss the Middle East turmoil with U.S. President George W. Bush, and has so far received a sympathetic hearing from the U.S. administration, the Business Day paper reported.
Some analysts in Israel believe that Sharon is trying to gain understanding from the Bush administration for possible harsh Israeli action against the Palestinian Authority, should it become clear that a total ceasefire has not taken effect, the paper added.
An end to the violence is to be followed by a six-week "cooling off period" after which confidence-building measures, including a complete freeze on construction in Jewish settlements, is to take place.
A few months after that, if all goes well, the United States hopes peace talks can resume.
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