US Secretary of State Colin Powell, responding to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei's suggestion Thursday that the Palestinians could seek a bi-national state with Israel instead of an independent state, said the US remains committed to a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
| "Oh, no! Really! Us Paleostinians would just love to form a state with you guys! We'd get along well! Just think of all we've been through together..." |
Qurei was responding to Prime Minister Sharon's threat to unilaterally determine Israel's borders with the Palestinians should peace negotiations fail. Qurei, speaking to Reuters, also described Sharon's plan as an "apartheid solution."
| Just think of it as negotiations without you guys taking part... |
Powell said he believed Sharon's plan for unilateral disengagement, outlined last month, would not come to fruition if the Palestinians presented a reliable negotiating partner.
| Which they haven't to date, have they? |
Asked if he thought the idea of a bi-national state was viable, Powell told reporters at a news conference: "No, we're committed to a two-state solution. I believe that's the only solution that will work, a state for the Palestinian people called Palestine, and a Jewish state, the state of Israel which exists."
"I don't believe that we can accept a situation that results in anything one might characterize as apartheid or bantuism," Powell added. "What we need right now is for the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority to get control of security forces and to use those forces and use the other tools available to him to put down terror and to put down violence. And if that happens and we see that kind of commitment, then I'm confident that we can move forward on the roadkill road map." |