(State Department) - Secretary of State Powell said Monday: "The President made it clear...that he was not prejudging any final status issue....At the end of the day, it is between the Palestinians and the Israelis to determine what they're going to do about armistice lines [and] right of return." "The President took note of certain realities on the ground that everybody realized are realities...but ultimately these realities, and what one does with these realities, will have to be negotiated between the two sides." "Something fundamentally new has been put on the table. The Israelis are going to leave all of the settlements in Gaza and not destroy them on the way out. They will be there to be converted to ultimate use of the Palestinian people in Gaza." "With the evacuation of four settlements in the West Bank...that is the beginning of a process to see what else might be evacuated."
2004-04-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive