The trip followed a week of escalating Israeli repression and Palestinian protest. Two days earlier, Israeli forces had killed Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a leader of the Muslim nationalist Hamas organization. Tens of thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in the West Bank and Gaza to protest this latest Israeli assassination of a prominent Palestinian figure.

The marchers were also incensed by the deaths on November 22 of five Palestinian children, blown into unrecognizable pieces when one kicked an Israeli shell lying near a United Nations-run elementary school in Khan Younis. After several days, the Israeli military admitted that the bomb was a remote-control device they had planted.

In the week following Powell's speech, touted as an American "peace" initiative, at least 14 Palestinians have been killed, bringing the death toll among Palestinians in 14 months of heightened conflict to 770. Two hundred Israelis have also been killed, including two on November 27.

Powell's presentation represents another attempt by Washington to force the Palestinians to accept a "state" comprised of the Gaza Strip and disconnected cities on the West Bank surrounded by Israeli-controlled areas (see map). Since September 11 Israel has used the cover of Washington's war drive to accelerate its war against the Palestinians, including major military incursions into and occupations of most Palestinian-controlled cities in the West Bank.

In his speech, the U.S. secretary of state claimed that the "Middle East has always needed active American engagement for there to be progress." He spent much of his speech crowing about the retreat of the Taliban forces in northern Afghanistan. "Our armed forces and our intelligence services...have driven them from power," he said, stressing that the "war is not over."

"American leadership in foreign affairs has never been more important," said Powell. His support for negotiations in the Mideast reflected Washington's emphasis on drawing governments in the region behind its aggression and further war plans.

The United States has "an enduring and ironclad commitment to Israel's security," said the former military leader. Directing most of his criticisms at the Palestinian leadership, Powell said the PA "must make a 100 percent effort to end violence and to end terror.... Terrorists must be stopped before they act," he said, echoing Israeli demands for preemptive punishment of those accused of preparing attacks on Israel. He described the ongoing Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation as a "quicksand of self-defeating violence and terror."

If the Palestinian Authority makes progress in cracking down on the widespread resistance, said Powell, Israel should respond by halting the construction of new settlements in the occupied territories.

According to media reports, the U.S. framework for new talks is little changed from that presented at the failed Camp David summit in July of last year. The West Bank and Gaza Strip would be connected by a "safe transit" route and the two areas declared a Palestinian state. Washington is demanding the Palestinian state be "demilitarized" and that three Israeli military surveillance posts be allowed in the border area with Jordan. A substantial number of Israeli settlements would be maintained in the West Bank and the Israeli government would retain control over a divided Jerusalem, which straddles Israel and the West Bank.

Palestinian Authority chairman Yasir Arafat and other representatives explained earlier this year that such proposals would not substantially alter the present setup, which leaves the Palestinian areas exposed to Israeli military and economic power.

Mohammed Dahlan, the commander of Palestinian preventive security in the Gaza Strip, told the New York Times that without an end to the closures or other concessions by Israel, the PA has little chance of bringing the resistance to a halt. The Israeli forces "hit Palestinian areas on a daily basis," he said, "and they are carrying out the assassination policy, and at the same time they are asking the Palestinian Authority to control its people.... That's not possible."

"Today what is going on?" asked Dahlan. "Seven years under siege--and I am one who believes in the peace process--seven years with one result: all we have is islands, prisons."  
 
 
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