(IsraelNationalNews, Wednesday, 4 PM Israel time)
As Israelis joyously celebrate Independence Day, it appears that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will be returning to Washington without much to show for his two meetings with Yasser Arafat. After a tense three-hour meeting between the two on Sunday, they met again today for two hours today - yet Arafat still gave no commitment to stopping the 18 months of terrorism his forces have inflicted on Israel. He insists that he will not even discuss such an option until Israel leaves the PA-controlled areas - areas it entered only because Arafat did not contain the terrorism there.
Powell, in his post-meeting statement today, said, \"In my meetings with Chairman Arafat, I made it clear that he and the Palestinian Authority can 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.\" Senior PA official Yasser Abed Rabbo termed the Powell-Arafat meeting a \"catastrophe.\"
Mr. Powell stated that today is the 54th anniversary of the state of Israel, and that the United States has stood by Israel\'s side since its establishment, and will continue to do so. He acknowledged that no cease-fire \"can be achieved in reality as well as rhetoric\" until Israel ends its anti-terrorism offensive, and said, \"I stressed to [Prime Minister Sharon] the urgency of completing withdrawal, and have been assured of real results in the next few days.\"
Secretary Powell also had some negative observations about Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, saying that Israel should decide \"whether the time has come.. to look beyond the destructive impact of settlements and occupation, both of which must end...\"
Another sign of Powell\'s lack of success was Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak\'s cancellation of his scheduled meeting with the American secretary today. Powell said that Assistant Secretary of State William Burns would remain in the region, that envoy Anthony Zinni would return, and that he himself would also come back, though he did not say when. An angry Arafat reportedly called on Powell and the international community to apply pressure on Israel to end his isolation.
As Israelis joyously celebrate Independence Day, it appears that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will be returning to Washington without much to show for his two meetings with Yasser Arafat. After a tense three-hour meeting between the two on Sunday, they met again today for two hours today - yet Arafat still gave no commitment to stopping the 18 months of terrorism his forces have inflicted on Israel. He insists that he will not even discuss such an option until Israel leaves the PA-controlled areas - areas it entered only because Arafat did not contain the terrorism there.
Powell, in his post-meeting statement today, said, \"In my meetings with Chairman Arafat, I made it clear that he and the Palestinian Authority can 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.\" Senior PA official Yasser Abed Rabbo termed the Powell-Arafat meeting a \"catastrophe.\"
Mr. Powell stated that today is the 54th anniversary of the state of Israel, and that the United States has stood by Israel\'s side since its establishment, and will continue to do so. He acknowledged that no cease-fire \"can be achieved in reality as well as rhetoric\" until Israel ends its anti-terrorism offensive, and said, \"I stressed to [Prime Minister Sharon] the urgency of completing withdrawal, and have been assured of real results in the next few days.\"
Secretary Powell also had some negative observations about Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, saying that Israel should decide \"whether the time has come.. to look beyond the destructive impact of settlements and occupation, both of which must end...\"
Another sign of Powell\'s lack of success was Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak\'s cancellation of his scheduled meeting with the American secretary today. Powell said that Assistant Secretary of State William Burns would remain in the region, that envoy Anthony Zinni would return, and that he himself would also come back, though he did not say when. An angry Arafat reportedly called on Powell and the international community to apply pressure on Israel to end his isolation.