Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced that he \"welcomes\" U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell\'s speech, and added what could be considered his own summary of the speech: \"The cessation of all \'terrorism, violence and incitement\' is a prior condition for any diplomatic progress.\" Sharon announced that the negotiating team he established will \"conduct negotiations toward achieving a cease-fire with Powell\'s special representatives, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns and Gen. Anthony Zinni [and not with the PA].\"
Main points of the speech:
\"The United States-Israeli relationship is based on the broadest conception of American national interests, in which our two nations are bound forever together by common democratic values and traditions. This will never change…
\"The Palestinian leadership must make a 100% effort to end violence and to end terror. There must be real results, not just words and declarations. Terrorists must be stopped before they act. The Palestinian leadership must arrest, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of terrorist acts. The Palestinians must live up to the agreements they have made to do so. They must be held to account when they do not...
\"No national aspiration, no remembered wrong can ever justify the deliberate murder of the innocent. Terror and violence must stop and stop now…
\"The endless messages of incitement and hatred of Israelis and Jews that pour out of the media in so much of the Palestinian and Arab worlds only reinforce [Israeli] fears. No one can claim a commitment to peace while feeding a culture of hatred that can only produce a culture of violence. The incitement must stop…
\"Palestinians must accept that they can only achieve their goals through negotiation... \"Palestinians must eliminate any doubt, once and for all, that they accept the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state. They must make clear that their objective is a Palestinian state alongside Israel, not in place of Israel…
\"We have a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders…
\"Too many innocent Palestinians, including children, have been killed and wounded. This, too, must stop…
\"Israeli settlement activity has severely undermined Palestinian trust and hope. It preempts and prejudges the outcome of negotiations and, in doing so, cripples chances for real peace and security. The United States has long opposed settlement activity. Consistent with the report of the committee headed by Senator George Mitchell, settlement activity must stop…
\"[The Mitchell and Tenet documents]] offer Israelis and Palestinians a roadmap to a cease-fire and an end to the violence…
\"Israel must be willing to end its occupation, consistent with the principles embodied in Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and accept a viable Palestinian State…\"
Arutz-7\'s Yosef Zalmanson noted that Powell did announce one practical step that he expected would be implemented \"in the very, very near future\" - namely, the dispatching of Gen. Anthony Zinni to Israel to meet with Israel and PA teams to discuss terms for a ceasefire. Powell said that Prime Minister Sharon had formed a senior-level committee to \"work with the Palestinians on the negotiation and implementation of a cease-fire and what follows from that,\" and that \"I also understand that Chairman Arafat remains ready to do likewise,\" and that Gen. Zinni will \"remain in the region to work with these two committees [in order to reach] a cease-fire… \"
Afterwards, Powell was asked to explain what he meant by his statement, \"We will push, we will prod [the two sides].\" His response: \"You\'ll see what pushing and prodding is when Tony Zinni gets on the ground.\"
Main points of the speech:
\"The United States-Israeli relationship is based on the broadest conception of American national interests, in which our two nations are bound forever together by common democratic values and traditions. This will never change…
\"The Palestinian leadership must make a 100% effort to end violence and to end terror. There must be real results, not just words and declarations. Terrorists must be stopped before they act. The Palestinian leadership must arrest, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of terrorist acts. The Palestinians must live up to the agreements they have made to do so. They must be held to account when they do not...
\"No national aspiration, no remembered wrong can ever justify the deliberate murder of the innocent. Terror and violence must stop and stop now…
\"The endless messages of incitement and hatred of Israelis and Jews that pour out of the media in so much of the Palestinian and Arab worlds only reinforce [Israeli] fears. No one can claim a commitment to peace while feeding a culture of hatred that can only produce a culture of violence. The incitement must stop…
\"Palestinians must accept that they can only achieve their goals through negotiation... \"Palestinians must eliminate any doubt, once and for all, that they accept the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish state. They must make clear that their objective is a Palestinian state alongside Israel, not in place of Israel…
\"We have a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders…
\"Too many innocent Palestinians, including children, have been killed and wounded. This, too, must stop…
\"Israeli settlement activity has severely undermined Palestinian trust and hope. It preempts and prejudges the outcome of negotiations and, in doing so, cripples chances for real peace and security. The United States has long opposed settlement activity. Consistent with the report of the committee headed by Senator George Mitchell, settlement activity must stop…
\"[The Mitchell and Tenet documents]] offer Israelis and Palestinians a roadmap to a cease-fire and an end to the violence…
\"Israel must be willing to end its occupation, consistent with the principles embodied in Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and accept a viable Palestinian State…\"
Arutz-7\'s Yosef Zalmanson noted that Powell did announce one practical step that he expected would be implemented \"in the very, very near future\" - namely, the dispatching of Gen. Anthony Zinni to Israel to meet with Israel and PA teams to discuss terms for a ceasefire. Powell said that Prime Minister Sharon had formed a senior-level committee to \"work with the Palestinians on the negotiation and implementation of a cease-fire and what follows from that,\" and that \"I also understand that Chairman Arafat remains ready to do likewise,\" and that Gen. Zinni will \"remain in the region to work with these two committees [in order to reach] a cease-fire… \"
Afterwards, Powell was asked to explain what he meant by his statement, \"We will push, we will prod [the two sides].\" His response: \"You\'ll see what pushing and prodding is when Tony Zinni gets on the ground.\"