The Middle East/The US: The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, said yesterday that Washington is concerned at the shooting by Israel on Saturday of a Hamas leader, Abdullah Kawasme, in the West Bank city of Hebron.
"I regret we had an incident that could be an impediment to progress," he told a news conference following an urgent meeting of the "Quartet" (US, Russia, UN and EU) called to secure progress on the road map for achieving a Palestinian-Israeli settlement.
Mr Powell said he lacked information on whether Mr Kawasme was a "ticking bomb," Israel's term for someone about to mount an imminent attack.
Mr Powell called upon the Palestinian Authority to ensure that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other dissident groups accept and adhere to the ceasefire specified in the road map.
Referring to the cycle of violence that has prevented progress in the peace process, Mr Powell stated, "I regret that we continue to find ourselves trapped in this action and counter-action, provocation and reaction to provocation ... I would much rather on a Sunday morning wake up to find that we are moving forward and it was not necessary to have this kind of activity on either side."
Analysts believe that Mr Powell's balanced language was intended to restrain Israel. Its attempted assassination of a Hamas spokesman, Dr Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a few days after the road map was launched by President Bush at the Aqaba summit, was seen as reactivating the cycle of violence.
Accompanying Mr Powell on the podium were the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, the EU foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, and the Greek Foreign Minister, Mr George Papandreou, whose country is the outgoing president of the European bloc.
Mr Annan called upon Israel to cease extrajudicial killings and said Palestinian militants "must cease acts of terror against the Israeli people". He asked the international community to provide financial aid to the Palestinians so they can rebuild hospitals and schools demolished during the 33 months of the uprising.
The Quartet held consultations on the sidelines of a special meeting at a Jordanian Dead Sea resort of the Swiss-based World Economic Forum, convened to discuss the Arab-Israel dispute and postwar Iraq. Addressing the opening session on Saturday, Jordan's King Abdullah said the road map "needs more than words and wishful thinking ... This means real commitment that will test our leadership, our resources, and our deepest moral convictions."
The Arab League Secretary General, Mr Amr Mousa, accused the US of not making its intentions clear regarding the road map and of increasing insecurity by occupying Iraq. His view was echoed by Sheikh Hamas al-Thain, the foreign minister of Qatar, one of Washington's staunchest allies in the region.
Their charges were rejected by Mr Richard Lugar, chairman of the US Senate's foreign relations committee. He said the US wanted Iraq to "become democratic ... have a vibrant economy... and be friends with its neighbours". Yesterday he attempted to reassure Arab participants that Mr Bush is firmly committed to the road map.
Some 1,100 businessmen, officials, academics and religious leaders are attending the event, which ends today.
