(State Department) Secretary of State Rice told the House International Relations Committee Thursday: "In the Palestinian territories...an election that was free of violence, that was free and fair...brought to power Hamas, an organization that is a terrorist organization that has killed thousands of innocent people in its quest. There is now a responsibility, first and foremost, of the international community to make it very clear that a Palestinian government, any Palestinian government, will have to meet international standards set out in the Quartet statement of the recognition of Israel's right to exist, disarming militias, renouncing violence, because it is not possible to pursue a peaceful life for your people on the one hand in the political process and to have a foot in the camp of terrorism on the other. And so the United States will stand strong in its determination that the next Palestinian government will have to live up to those standards."
2006-02-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive