US Sends Fresh Warnings to Palestinians on Leadership Issue

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 01, 2002

US Sends Fresh Warnings to Palestinians on Leadership Issue

The United States sent fresh warnings to the Palestinians on Sunday, saying that Washington will not help solve the Middle East conflict unless the Palestinians elect a new leadership.

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The United States sent fresh warnings to the Palestinians on Sunday, saying that Washington will not help solve the Middle East conflict unless the Palestinians elect a new leadership.

"If they (the Palestinians) don't bring in new leaders, then we shouldn't expect new approaches," Secretary of State Colin Powell said on "Fox News Sunday."

The U.S. secretary of state urged the Palestinians to look at the situation they find themselves in, examine the leadership they have been receiving over the years and make a judgment that perhaps they can do better.

Powell, echoing criticism on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat by President George W. Bush in his new Middle East peace plan unveiled earlier this week, said he did not expect to meet Arafat again because his leadership is flawed.

"Chairman Arafat simply did not provide the kind of leadership necessary to move forward," he said.

Powell recalled that he met Arafat at his headquarters in Ramallah about two months ago, warning him that he must move in a new direction or the U.S. will not be able to help the Palestinians.

"He has not moved in that new direction. Quite the contrary, every time we got something going, the terror came back and Chairman Arafat was not doing enough to end the terror," Powell said.

He disclosed that the U.S. is reaching out to a variety of Palestinian leaders but has had no conversation with Arafat since Bush announced his peace initiative on Monday.

Powell and Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, on Sunday also appeared on other U.S. TV networks to deliver similar messages.

President Bush on Monday delivered a speech to outline his vision for the Middle East conflict.

He demanded the Palestinians choose a new leadership before the U.S. could support the creation of a provisional Palestinian stateand help solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in three years.

The Bush plan has been widely criticized for its one-sided approach in favor of Israel and for its interference in the Palestinians' internal affairs.

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