(State Department) During a joint press conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas on Friday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said: "We would expect that, as the prime minister said, anybody participating in public life, in the state of Palestine...would be individuals and organizations that are firmly committed to democracy, to the rule of law, and not to terrorism, and not to having armed components that are committed to terrorism or are a threat to the nation." "Hamas is committed to terror and celebrates the terrorist attacks we are seeing. And it is no longer possible to separate one part of Hamas out from another part of Hamas. That is why I believe the entire international community must speak out strongly against the activities of Hamas....The organization that we are dealing with today, right now, has not demonstrated, in my judgment, that it is a partner for peace."
2003-06-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive