After wide criticisms for his Middle East policy, US President George W. Bush announced on Thursday that he will send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East for a new push to end the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"The world finds itself at a critical moment. This is a conflict that can widen or an opportunity we can seize. And so I' ve decided to send Secretary of State Powell to the region next week to seek broad international support for the vision" of a settlement, Bush said.
Bush said Powell would work to implement the latest United Nations resolution which called for an immediate and meaningful cease-fire, an end of terror and violence and incitement, withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian cities, and implementation of the Tenet cease-fire plan and the Mitchell plan for political negotiations.
In the 20-minute statement, Bush gave harsh words to Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, who has been besieged by Israeli tanks in his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"The chairman of the Palestinian Authority has not consistently opposed or confronted terrorists ... The situation in which he finds himself today is largely of his own making. He's missed his opportunities and thereby betrayed the hopes of the people he is supposed to lead."
Bush said his special envoy Anthony C. Zinni was on the verge of a cease-fire agreement last week before a suicide bombing killed dozens of Israelis at a hotel in the northern Israeli city of Netanya.
The attack preceded large-scale Israeli military incursion into Palestinian-held areas and another chain of suicide bombings in Israel. While reiterating his support for Israel's right to defend itself, Bush called on the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops.
"America recognized Israel's right to defend itself from terror. Yet to lay the foundations of future peace, I asked Israel to halt incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas and begin the withdrawal from those cities it has recently occupied."
Bush also called on Arab leaders to join his effort to prevent terror attacks against Israel. "It's not enough for Arab nations to defend the Palestinian cause, they must truly help the Palestinian people by seeking peace and fighting terror and promoting development."
"As Israel steps back, Palestinian leaders and Israel's Arab neighbors have a responsibility to step forward and show the world that they are truly on the side of peace," he said.
Bush refused to answer questions from reporters why he made the decision to send Powell to the Middle East now.
Speculation, however, is rampant internationally that his Middle East policy was miscalculated, resulting in an unbridled h cycle of violence that is detrimental to the Interests of the United States.
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2002)
