Jerusalem, May 11: Giving a new push to the Middle East peace process, U S Secretary of State Colin Powell has urged Israel and the Palestinians to start implementing the newly released 'road map' for peace which envisions a Palestinian state by 2005 living side by side with the Jewish state.
After holding talks with Israeli foreign minister Silvan
Shalom upon his arrival here last night, Powell told a news
conference that though the details of the agreement had not
been worked out, there was enough agreement to get it started.
"There is enough agreement on the road map that we can
get started... as we hear comments about the road map, what is
absolutely clear is that there is more than enough for us
to get started", Powell said.
Stating that the Palestinian leadership was prepared to
move towards peace, Powell called on both sides to take
necessary steps towards implementation of the road map drawn
by United States, Russia, the European Union and the United
Nations.
The peace plan outlines a process that begins with
ceasing Palestinian violence and Israel's withdrawal from
Palestinian territories and ends in the establishment of a
Palestinian state by 2005.
"There is a need to end violence now. There is a need to
end terror now. There is a need to take some steps that will
make life a little better for the Palestinian people," Powell
said at the joint press conference with Shalom.
Bureau Report
