Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Joint Press Availability With
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat

Ramallah
February 25, 2001

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CHAIRMAN ARAFAT (Interpreted from Arabic): I am very happy to extend a warm welcome to our guests and our friends: the U.S. Secretary of State, Secretary Powell, who is the current Secretary of State and a former general. Of course the two of us are generals together. I would like to thank him for coming here as he promised me, and as President Bush promised me that the Secretary would be coming here in this important visit. We need this visit and the Secretary right now in order to advance the Peace Process and move it forward and in order to protect the Peace Process, especially since peace is not only a Palestinian interest. Peace is in the interest of the Palestinians, the Israelis, the Arabs and the international community at large. We move on the basis of the principles that we are all committed to the Peace Process. We are committed to the Peace Process as a strategic choice for the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people elected me and they elected my colleagues in the Legislative Council on the basis of that strategic choice. Therefore it is a Palestinian choice to go out for peace; the same thing also with the PNC, which chose the Peace Process as the strategic choice for the Palestinians.

We also are moved on the basis of the various agreements and understandings between us and the Israeli side. And I am not here referring to agreements that are bilateral. These are agreements that are also multilateral. Most of these agreements are, for example Sharm El-Shaykh II, attended by U.S. former President Clinton, King Abdullah of Jordan, President Mubarak of Egypt, Mr. Kofi Annan of the United Nations, and Mr. Solana representing the U.N. and the European Community. And so these agreements became international agreements and not only bilateral agreements between the two sides. I am saying this because no government can basically erase the work of the previous government. The Israelis cannot erase the move when they withdrew from Lebanon or their agreement with Egypt regarding Sinai or their agreement with Jordan. Governments always continue the work of previous governments. And nobody can stop the Madrid process, the process that started with President Bush the Father. We call him President Bush the Father and the American side calls him the forty-first President. And, we look forward to resuming the negotiations from the point where it left off with the Israeli government that is still in power now. And I call on you, Mr. Secretary, our friend, our General friend, and I call on you and President Bush to help us to end the siege and these collective difficulties that we are facing as well as the escalations that are taking place with the use of prohibited various kinds of ammunition. We look forward to a quick protection for our people and this is our right just like any people around the world. Also, we call for the stopping of settlement activities. President Bush the father stood against that issue and he used the ten billion dollars loan guarantee to make his point.

My best wishes and regards to President Bush the forty-third and also to the former President Bush the forty-one. We look forward to a strong and solid relationship between us. And we look forward to a solution to the problem of Jerusalem, which is not only a Palestinians issue, but also an international issue. Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much Chairman Arafat for your kind words and your very gracious hospitality. I am very pleased to be in Ramallah and to have the opportunity to meet and consult with Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian leadership.

I am here today to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to bringing a lasting peace to the Middle East based on U.N. security resolutions 242 and 338. Chairman Arafat and I discussed the recent escalation of violence in the region and the steps that both sides must take to create an environment in which the constructive discussion of their differences is made possible. I have been, as so many of us have, and I know that President Bush has been and we all have been profoundly troubled by the violence that has occurred over the past six months. Nearly four hundred people have been killed. The loss of so many lives is a deep, deep, terrible tragedy. I also want to express my deep concern for the dire economic situation that everyday Palestinians must bear. It is my view that economic pressure contributes to an overall deterioration in the situation here in the territories. It places great hardship on Palestinian families, undermines relations between Israel and the Palestinian and does nothing to quiet the security situation in the region.

Earlier today I discussed all these concerns at length with Prime Minister Elect Sharon and urged Israel to do its part to improve the situation. Just in the past few minutes I have discussed with Chairman Arafat the steps that I believe need to be taken in order to ease the situation by stopping the violence, violence from both sides. As I said earlier this morning, the United States continues to support direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. But in the end we cannot want peace more than the parties themselves. It is up to Palestinians and Israelis to make the hard decisions that are essential if these two peoples are to live side-by-side in peace and prosperity, as they must. That is their destiny. And I am very pleased to have had this opportunity to have a conversation with Chairman Arafat. I look forward to many such conversations in the future. And not only will I report the results of this conversation to President Bush number forty-three later this evening. I will also see in Kuwait President Bush number forty-one and will convey your respects to him, sir.

QUESTION (Interpreted from Arabic): The question is for Chairman Arafat. Mr. Sharon stated his conditions regarding how to resume with the Palestinians and what are your views regarding those conditions?

CHAIRMAN ARAFAT (Interpreted from Arabic): The fateful and accurate implementation of all agreements that were signed.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, after having the meetings with both parties, how far are we now from resuming the negotiations and did you succeed in having any possible ways of taking the siege off the Palestinian territories?

SECRETARY POWELL: We discussed all of these issues and we also discussed the specific proposals that Prime Minister Elect Sharon shared with me this morning. I think the Chairman has all of that under advisement and we discussed how it is necessary for all sides to move away from violence, incitement and how it is necessary to lift the siege as soon as possible so that economic activity can begin again in the region. The challenge is how to get the process started. Who puts the first key in the door and starts to turn the lock. And that is still a difficult challenge but one that I think both Prime Minister Elect Sharon and the Chairman are dedicated to finding the answer for.

QUESTION: President Arafat. Can you tell us whether you believe that you can control the violence? And what steps are you prepared to take if you can control the violence to lead to a resumption of negotiations and some economic relief for your people? And Secretary Powell, can you share with us what Mr. Sharon demanded today in your meeting and whether you are disappointed that he is not willing to give the Palestinian people some economic relief in the interim?

CHAIRMAN ARAFAT (Interpreted from Arabic): You mentioned violence. Are we the ones who decide on sending tanks, armored vehicles, using bombs that are prohibited internationally, using helicopter gunships, and the ones that we are fighting with all these military machines? You have to be precise in your questions and do not just repeat the accusations of others.

QUESTION: Well, to be more precise then. Are you willing to stop the cycle on your part? Do you feel that you can control the violence on one side? And do you think that that could then lead to reciprocal action on the other side?

CHAIRMAN ARAFAT (Interpreted from Arabic): If they allow me to use my own car to enable me to move from one Palestinian town to another, that would help. They are preventing me from using my own helicopter. If it wasn't for King Abdullah of Jordan who gave me his helicopter, I would not have been able to come here and meet with Secretary Powell.

QUESTION: Could I ask Secretary Powell to respond to the question? There is a question on the table for Secretary Powell.

SECRETARY POWELL: Well what we all heard from Prime Minister Elect Sharon this morning was a plea to reduce the level of violence on both sides. I think there is violence coming from both sides. Both sides have to take action. And then he would be willing to begin security coordination again. He would be anxious to start economic activity again. He said so. He understands the distress the Palestinian people are in. And so, I think that what we have to do is to find a way to bridge these two parties so that they can begin talking directly with one another. And that is my hope that as a result of the conversation that we had today that perhaps some avenues will be opened. But that remains to be seen.

QUESTION (interpreted from Arabic): Two questions: one to Chairman Arafat, the second one to Secretary Powell. The one to Chairman Arafat: do you believe that the U.S., sponsor of the Peace Process, that the U.S. side will participate in the negotiations and that it will lead to that and will work on their efforts in the negotiating process? And Secretary Powell, in the questions you mentioned the U.S. interest in protecting Israel's security and you referred many times to Israel's security. Do you know that a few yards away from here there is a school that was bombed by the Israelis, for the blind people I believe? What about the security for the Palestinians? What about Palestinian security (inaudible)?

CHAIRMAN ARAFAT (Interpreted from Arabic): There is no doubt that we look forward to an active U.S. role in the peace negotiations. And I am confident that the current U.S. President, President Bush, will continue with the process that was started with his father in Madrid and was continued by President Clinton in order to cement the Peace Process in the Middle East. This is a process that as I mentioned earlier, is not only important for the Palestinians, but is important for the Palestinians, the Israelis, the Arabs and the world community.

SECRETARY POWELL: My heart goes out to every family that has lost a child. I want every Palestinian child, every Israeli child, safe in his or her home, in his or her school. That will only be brought about if the violence is reduced on both sides, if the cycle is broken, the upwards spiral is turned downward again and then we can begin discussions to get to the peace process that the chairman has spoken about and the United States and President Bush look forward to playing a leadership role in that peace process when it starts up again.

(end transcript)

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