(VOA News) Secretary of State Colin Powell Thursday put blame for the impasse in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts squarely on Arafat, who he said is aware of those who are committing anti-Israel acts of terror but has failed to move against them. Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "I put the blame squarely on Chairman Arafat for his unwillingness to speak out, use the moral authority as a leader that everybody says he has, not just to occasionally give a statement condemning this, not only to condemn this kind of activity, but take action against those organizations that he knows is committing those acts." Powell said he understood the frustration among Palestinians about Israeli policies, but these cannot be allowed to "serve as an excuse" for suicide attacks or other acts of terror. "The problem is the same problem that has been there for the three years that I have been working in this account. And that is terrorism, terrorism that still emanates from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other organizations that are not interested in peace, not interested in a state for the Palestinian people. They're interested in the destruction of Israel."
2004-02-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive