Israelis, Palestinians warm to Powell pledge

JERUSALEM -- Israelis and Palestinians welcomed Secretary of State Colin Powell's pledge Monday to renew the push for peace, but Palestinian officials noted that Powell's broad strokes did little to bridge the differences that have bedeviled efforts to end 14 months of fighting.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres praised the speech for what he called its "vision."

"You have a position taken by the United States, you have proposals how to resume the peace process, and all told, it's a positive speech," Peres said.

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Nabil Shaath agreed that "on a broad vision, the statement was good." But he said he was disappointed that Powell avoided specifics.

In the speech, delivered at the University of Louisville, Powell called for the creation of a state of Palestine beside Israel, as did President Bush two weeks ago at the United Nations. He said Israel should end settlement activity in the West Bank and Gaza and insisted the Palestinians must stop terrorism against Israelis.

Powell said the sides must implement the recommendations of an international commission led by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, which in April proposed a cease-fire, a series of confidence-building measures and renewed peace talks.

But he left intact a dispute over what comes first: Israel wants a total end to violence before any of the confidence-building measures recommended by Mitchell, such as a freeze on settlement construction, while the Palestinians say they can't quash the uprising without presenting concrete results to their people.

Israeli officials were relieved that Powell did not explicitly remove U.S. support for Israel's demand that seven days of absolute quiet precede any other moves. There was concern in Israel after Palestinian officials and Israeli peace activists said last week that the United States no longer supported that condition.

Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said the speech did not conflict with Israel's understanding that seven days of calm must be followed by a six-week cooling-off period, and only then would the confidence-building measures begin.

Gissin contended the Palestinians sabotaged earlier truce efforts by continuing violence.

Palestinians welcomed Powell's broadside on Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and Gaza -- which he said "pre-empts and prejudges the outcome of negotiations and in doing so cripples chances for real peace and security."

Sharon grudgingly accepted the Mitchell Report but never clearly pledged to halt construction inside settlements.

Israelis welcomed Powell's call on the Palestinian Authority to "arrest, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of terrorist acts."

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