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JERUSALEM, April 16: US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Tuesday his talks with Israelis and Palestinians were making progress, but might not produce a ceasefire by the time he left on Wednesday.
Powell said he planned to conclude his visit to Israel and the Palestinian areas on Wednesday. A senior State Department official said he would then visit Cairo. US officials have been working with both sides on separate ceasefire statements after nearly 19 months of bloodshed.
But the Palestinians may be unwilling to issue theirs unless Israel withdraws at once from West Bank cities seized in an offensive launched on March 29.
Powell met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for a third time, apparently in a bid to persuade him to commit himself to a timetable for complete withdrawal from reoccupied West Bank areas. In the last week he has promised only partial pullbacks.
HOPES NOT HIGH: Leading Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, speaking earlier in the day, made clear his hopes were not running high.
“Our discussions with the American side are focused on an immediate Israeli withdrawal and drawing a linkage between the security issues and the political issues,” he said. “Our dilemma is the issue of reoccupation, and if Secretary Powell leaves this area while the Israeli occupation is continuing, this would be a severe dilemma.”
Powell, who began his Middle East mission on April 7, was to travel to Ramallah on Wednesday for a second meeting with besieged Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.—Reuters
