U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday he is holding talks with Arab and Israeli leaders about an Israeli proposal to hold an international Mideast peace conference that might not include Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
According to AP, Powell said the United States would not host such a conference and that Arafat could send a high-level Palestinian official to represent him at such a meeting that would begin at the foreign minister level.
"We've got to move quickly to a political track and there are many ways to do that and one way is a regional or international conference," Powell told reporters as he returned to Israel from Syria.
"The conference in and of itself isn't the solution, but it's a way to get the parties together and talking."
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suggested the conference to Powell when the two met Sunday night in Tel Aviv, but the Israeli leader objected to Arafat's being included.
Powell said that a regional or international peace conference could start the process going to get the two sides back to the peace table.
"It doesn't necessarily require his presence to get started," Powell said of Arafat. "In fact, Chairman Arafat has the authority to appoint other Palestinians to represent him."
Powell reported about his Middle East mission to President Bush Sunday night from the residence of U.S. Ambassador to Tel Aviv, Daniel Kurtzer, and spoke also to Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security assistant.
Powell's public comment came after he took soundings in Syria and Lebanon earlier Monday on the proposed conference and warned leaders of the two nations that guerrilla attacks on Israel could spill over into a wider conflict.
The Lebanese government showed no interest in Sharon's idea of what an international conference would look like. "What does he mean without Arafat and Europe? Talking to the American administration or talking to himself and taking whatever decisions he likes and that others should comply?" asked Information Minister Ghazi Aridi.
Hammoud suggested there was a need for some "objectivity" about the attacks, which he described as resistance to Israeli occupation.
"Israel is responsible for the current escalation because it blocked all efforts seeking peace and has rejected all international resolutions," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
