Tuesday, September 23, 2003
This is a striking statement from Powell. Hopefully this is a recognition on the part of the Administration that there is no comparison between vicious acts of violence and people living on unoccupied hilltops, and that granting credence to the view that there is simply perpetuates the problem. Terrorism lives because terrorism works. Giving anything to an opponent who commits heinous acts does nothing but assure more of the same. The Palestinians must understand that until they end the violence, they will be the ones paying the price. No neutral third party, if they truly are a neutral third party, would draw a comparison between violence and "settlements." By not simply playing it down the middle in a mindless manner, and thus drawing false equivalencies between the sides, the process may be able to move forward. This is positive...and unexpected.
The internationally sponsored road map peace plan, strongly endorsed by Washington, provides for a freeze on settlement construction and removal of illegal settlement outposts as well as a Palestinian campaign against terror.
In the Monday interview, Powell said, "They (the Israelis) will respond, in my judgment, when it can be demonstrated that the Palestinian side is doing something about the bombing, the terror.
"It is very difficult if not impossible for the prime minister of Israel or any other nation in the face of activity that seems to be tolerated by the governmental authorities on the other side ... to say to his people that he is yielding to pressure from the Americans or anyone else." ...
