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Powell: Violence won't deter commitment to Mideast peace
AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- The United States will remain committed to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process despite continuing violence and "the wreckage of dashed hopes" along the way, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday. "We have no illusion about how hard it's going to be," Powell told a World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan. "We see it every day with some incident taking place on some side or another. We have no illusion about how hard it will be to move forward in the presence of that kind of action." Those difficulties were underscored by Israel's killing Sunday of a top Hamas militant during what Israelis said was an attempt to arrest him. Gaza explosion in disputeIn another incident, Palestinian sources said four Palestinians died when they were fired on by an Israeli tank in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, but Israeli sources disputed the claim. A military source said there was no IDF fire in the area at the time. Israeli security sources said the Palestinians were trying to plant an explosive device to be detonated in the future against IDF forces in the area when it exploded, prematurely killing them. Despite the violence, Powell said, "We must keep moving forward." "The people of the region expect it -- demand it -- and we must meet their hopes, dreams and aspirations," he said. "The United States will not shrink from the demands of this important effort that we are embarked upon." Powell spoke after meeting Sunday with representatives of the other Mideast Quartet members -- the European Union, Russia and the United Nations. The quartet is expected to negotiate a transfer of security power over Gaza and Bethlehem, in the West Bank, from Israel to the Palestinian Authority. "The international community is united in working towards peace," said Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency. "We are saying that we are not going to allow this process to be undermined, and that those who do are trying to undermine the political will of the international community." Powell said the path to peace is "littered with the wreckage of dashed hopes" but asked, "What else can we do? What choice do we have but to move forward now with this road map, with this total commitment of the international community?" Israel: Kawasme involved in 50 deathsPowell's comments came hours after Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including Hamas militant leader Abdullah Kawasme. Israel blamed Kawasme for the deaths of 25 Israelis in various attacks, including the June 11 suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus that killed 17. Ra'anan Gissin, a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Israeli soldiers shot and killed Kawasme -- who was on Israel's most wanted list -- when he fled from soldiers trying to arrest him in the West Bank town of Hebron. "We tried to arrest him, we didn't try to kill him," Gissin said. "Had we not, we would have had more incidents ... How long do we have to wait before the Palestinian Authority takes action?" But Powell questioned whether Israel needed to move against Kawasme under the circumstances and said the killing "could be an impediment to progress" on the road map. "We can understand the situation of, quote, a ticking bomb, when there is an immediate threat that has to be dealt with," he said. "But anything that is out of the immediate definition has to be looked at in terms of the consequences it will have on our ability to move forward." Hamas spokesman Abdel Aziz Rantissi, who survived an assassination attempt by Israeli forces two weeks ago, vowed Kawasme's death would be avenged. Rantissi said Hamas is still considering a cease-fire proposal from new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, popularly known as Abu Mazen. "Up till now, we haven't [made] a decision, but we said that we are going to answer Abu Mazen in the coming few days," Rantissi said. "We will continue in dialogue with Palestinians as if there is no Israeli terror, and we will continue resisting terror as if there is no dialogue with the Palestinians." Israeli operation in Khan YounisMeanwhile, Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian gunmen late Sunday as they demolished two houses in southern Gaza, lightly wounding an Israeli soldier, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. According to IDF, the houses, located in Khan Yunis, were uninhabited, but were being used to "harbor terrorists" as they attacked Israeli positions in Gaza. Palestinians sources said Israeli forces also surrounded the home of a Hamas spokesman in Khan Yunis, but contrary to earlier reports, the troops took no action before withdrawing early Monday morning. CNN Correspondent Jerrold Kessel contributed to this report.
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