Assistant Secretary of State William Burns was preparing
the ground for the most concerted international peace drive in
the region since the U.S.-brokered Camp David talks collapsed
in mid-2000. Palestinians rose up against Israel soon
afterwards.
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) is due in the region later
this week for the first time in 13 months and Burns came ahead
of him to glean remarks from each side on the long-delayed road
map unveiled last week.
Burns said President Bush (news - web sites) and Powell envisaged steps that
"Israel can consider in its own self-interest to reinforce
important steps on the Palestinian side to act decisively
against terror and violence.
"Obviously the humanitarian situation for Palestinians is a
very difficult one, and we very much hope that concrete steps
can be taken to ease that," Burns told reporters after talks
with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
"...this is going to require steps on both sides, if we are
going to realize the moment of opportunity which we believe
exists now," Burns added.
His comments touched on objections by Israel to the road
map's prescription for reciprocal confidence-building steps by
each side intended to spawn a Palestinian state by 2005 in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites), lands Israel occupied in a 1967 war.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s right-wing coalition
says the peace plan does not put sufficient onus on
Palestinians to disarm and jail militants before Israel pulls
troops out of Palestinian cities or suspends settlement on
occupied territory.
Shalom said Israel would not endanger itself by withdrawing
forces before it was sure militant groups, sworn to defy a new
reformist Palestinian prime minister keen on negotiating peace,
would not resurface in future.
"I communicated very clearly (to Burns) that we expect the
Palestinians to destroy the terror infrastructure," he said.
PALESTINIAN PREMIER REJECTS VIOLENCE
Many analysts say Palestinian suicide bombers have thrived
on the bitterness of a population largely unable to work, trade
or travel with their cities occupied or blockaded by the
Israeli army. Israel says this has markedly reduced militant
violence.
New Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was installed
last week largely under the pressure of international mediators
for democratic reforms deemed crucial to making peace.
Abbas has vocally opposed violence as a means to political
ends, calling it counterproductive.
But he lacks a popular power base and will have trouble
seeing off militant groups -- who have rejected the peace plan
-- without concomitant improvements in the lives of ordinary
people, analysts and diplomats say.
Burns was due to meet Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul
Mofaz later in the day, then Abbas and his security minister
Mohammed Dahlan on Monday.
He will not see Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), who
Washington says is an obstacle to peace. Arafat denies
fomenting violence.
The road map was co-drafted by the Bush administration and
its partners in the Quartet dealing with Middle East
peacemaking -- Russia, the European Union (news - web sites) and the United
Nations (news - web sites).
It aims to end 31 months of violence in which at least
2,034 Palestinians and 737 Israelis have been killed.
The road map envisages steps in three phases, including
Palestinian democratic reforms to stamp out armed chaos and
corruption and a freeze on Jewish settlement-building, to pave
the way for a viable Palestinian state co-existing with Israel.
Israel, where nationalists powerful in Sharon's government
oppose any diplomatic outcome beyond a truncated Palestinian
state with limited sovereignty, objects to timetables as well
as parallel steps. Palestinians want the plan implemented as it
is.
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