24 April 2002
Powell Finds Broad Support for Comprehensive Mideast Strategy
(Testimony before Senate subcommittee on foreign operations, April 24)
(1410)
Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate subcommittee that he
found broad support for a comprehensive strategy for peace in the
Middle East during his recent ten-day visit to the Middle East and
Europe.
"In my consultations with our international partners during the ten
days of my travel, and with our Arab friends and Israelis and
Palestinians, I listened carefully and I probed hard. I found broad
support for a comprehensive strategy as a way forward," Powell said in
his prepared testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee
on foreign operations, export financing, and related programs in
Washington April 24.
Powell said the United Nations, the European Union and Russia support
the United States in a comprehensive approach to solving the conflict
between Israelis and Palestinians.
The secretary said a comprehensive strategy involves three elements:
1) security and freedom from terror and violence for Israelis and
Palestinians; 2) serious and accelerated negotiations for a political
settlement; and 3) economic humanitarian assistance for "the
increasingly desperate conditions faced by the Palestinian people."
Powell said the question faced by the Palestinian people and their
leaders was whether they can renounce violence and terror forever and
strive for peace through negotiations.
For the people and leaders of Israel, the question was whether they
can "look beyond the destructive impact of settlements and occupation,
both of which must end," Powell said.
"For the people and leaders of the international community, the
question is how we can help both sides solve the deep problems they
face," he added.
President Bush is prepared to send Central Intelligence Director
George Tenet to help the parties resume security cooperation, and
Powell himself plans to return to the region to press for progress on
all aspects of the comprehensive approach, the secretary said.
Following is an excerpt from the transcript of Powell's April 24
testimony containing his comments on the Palestinian/Israeli issue:
(begin excerpt)
I have just returned from the Middle East. I met with key leaders in
Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as with Crown
Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia -- and of course I met with Prime
Minister Sharon and Chairman Arafat.
I went to the Middle East because the President asked me to travel to
a region in turmoil. Recent events have taken an enormous toll in
lives lost, families shattered, economic activity frozen and mounting
humanitarian distress.
An additional cause of tension is the ongoing threat posed by attacks
by Hezbollah and others across the United Nations' recognized Blue
Line. It was for that reason I traveled to Beirut and Damascus to
underscore the President's strong message to all parties to exercise
restraint.
In my consultations with our international partners during the ten
days of my travel, and with our Arab friends and Israelis and
Palestinians, I listened carefully and I probed hard. I found broad
support for a comprehensive strategy as a way forward.
The Madrid Quartet meeting, which I mentioned earlier, resulted in a
strong declaration endorsing this comprehensive approach. In that
declaration the United States, the United Nations, the European Union
and the Russian Federation were united in this endorsement.
There are three critical elements in this comprehensive strategy:
first, security and freedom from terror and violence for Israelis and
Palestinians; second, serious and accelerated negotiations to revive
hope and lead to a political settlement; and third, economic
humanitarian assistance to address the increasingly desperate
conditions faced by the Palestinian people.
Confronting and ending terrorism are indispensable steps on the road
to peace. In my meetings with Chairman Arafat I made it clear that he
and the Palestinian Authority could no longer equivocate. They must
decide as the rest of the world has decided that terrorism must end.
Chairman Arafat must take that message to his people. He must follow
through with instructions to his security forces. He must act to
arrest and prosecute terrorists, disrupt terrorist financing,
dismantle terrorist infrastructure and stop incitement.
Prime Minister Sharon stated his intention to complete Israel's
withdrawal from the areas that it had occupied. He provided me with a
time-line for the withdrawal. I stressed to the Prime Minister the
urgency of completing withdrawal and was assured of real results in
the specified days. I recognized the particular circumstances at the
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Presidential compound in
Ramallah, and I emphasized the importance of their urgent non-violent
resolution.
Improvement in the security situation, if it is achieved, must be
linked to the second point: determined pursuit of a political
solution. There can be no peace without security, but there can also
be no security without peace. Only a negotiated settlement can resolve
the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. We must find a way to
bring together traditional elements such as United Nations Security
Council Resolutions 242 and 338, with new initiatives, such as my
Louisville speech last November, UN Resolution 1397, and the Arab
League's endorsement a month ago of the initiative of Saudi Crown
Prince Abdullah.
A number of the leaders with whom I spoke during my travel have
expressed interest in convening a conference on the Middle East in the
near future, a conference with international backing. As they have
suggested, its purpose would be to restore hope, reaffirm the urgency
of a comprehensive settlement, and resume direct negotiations in order
to achieve that comprehensive settlement.
At the same time we explore this initiative and other ideas to address
the political issues, the international community must address the
dire humanitarian problems as well as the long-term economic needs of
the Palestinian people. During my visit to Jerusalem, I was pleased to
announce that the United States would contribute an additional 30
million dollars in support of the United Nations Relief and Works
Agency and its programs in providing health, education, relief and
social services to Palestinian refugees. This is beyond the 80 million
dollars we already provide annually. We are augmenting this with
emergency assistance to deal with the special conditions in Jenin
refuge camp -- tents and equipment to purify water and prevent the
spread of disease.
International donors will meet in Norway later this month to increase
assistance to the Palestinian people at this time of exceptional need.
Also, international humanitarian and aid agencies must have the
freedom and access that they need to do their jobs. So this is the
comprehensive approach I believe we must pursue. I left Assistant
Secretary of State Bill Burns in the region to follow up on my visit.
As circumstances warrant, the President is prepared to send DCI Tenet
in the near future, to work with the parties to resume security
cooperation between the parties. Mr. Tenet has experience in this from
last year -- experience in these kinds of organizations and activities
-- that I think will once again benefit both parties.
Moreover, I plan to return to the region to move ahead on all aspects
of our comprehensive approach.
Mr. Chairman, For the Palestinian people and leaders of the
Palestinian Authority, the question is whether violence and terrorism
can be renounced forever and whether their sights can be set squarely
on peace through negotiations.
For the people and leaders of Israel, the question is whether the time
has come for a strong, vibrant State of Israel to look beyond the
destructive impact of settlements and occupation, both of which must
end, consistent with the clear positions taken by President Bush in
his April 4th speech. Israelis should look ahead to the promise held
out by the region and the world of a comprehensive, lasting peace.
For the Arab peoples and their leaders, the question is whether the
promise and vision of Crown Prince Abdullah's initiative can be
transformed into a living reality. It is important that artificial
barriers between states fall away, and distorted and racist images
disappear from the media and from public discourse.
For the people and leaders of the international community, the
question is how we can help both sides solve the deep problems they
face.
These are the challenges that we all face. President Bush has directed
his administration to do what is necessary to stop the violence,
encourage efforts toward peace, and restore the economic foundations
of the region. Our fervent hope is that Israelis, Palestinians, our
Arab friends, and the international community will also rise to this
challenge.
(end excerpt)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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