WASHINGTON D.C. , 20 November — Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday called for Israel and Palestine to exist as “separate nations side by side” and said that Israel must accept UN Resolutions 242 and 338. He told Israel to end its occupation of Arab lands and instructed Palestinians to crush terrorism.

Israelis must do their part, Powell said in his speech at the University of Louisville’s McConnell Center for Political Leadership. Too many Palestinians have grown up “with checkpoints, raids and indignities, and watched their parents humiliated,” he said. Indicating a change in foreign policy, Powell said American leadership will now start to play a bigger role in the Middle East. “We have a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders.” He said America will “push and prod” to get the peace talks restarted, and added that America will count on its allies for help.

“We cannot hope to turn the current situation around by acting alone, nor should we want to. We look forward to working closely with Jordan, Egypt, the European Union, Russia and our many other partners who support the Mitchell Report,” he said.

Powell said Williams Burns, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs, will return to the region shortly and retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni will serve as senior adviser to the secretary. “His long experience in the Middle East will be an invaluable addition to our team,” he said. He said he would send Gen. Zinni there with the immediate aim of brokering a Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire.

Both Powell and President Bush have endorsed a Palestinian state. However, they did not indicate how much pressure the administration might apply to Israel except to say it is obliged under UN Security Council resolutions to give land for peace.

He promised that the Bush administration had a “vision” for a peaceful Middle East, but laid out no new proposals for ending the violence, nor gave any sign that he could visit the region soon. Powell insisted that the US-backed Mitchell plan, which neither party has implemented, remained the only viable route to peace.

“Get that cease-fire in place and other things can start to happen. Without that cease-fire, we are still trapped in the quicksand of hatred,” said Powell.

“For the sake of Palestinians and Israelis alike, the occupation must end and it can only end through negotiations. Palestinians need security as well. Too many innocent Palestinians including children have been killed and wounded. This too must stop,” Powell said. Powell made no mention of a time frame for an end to the occupation.

The Secretary of State also vigorously condemned Israel’s practice of expanding settlements in the Palestinian territories.

“Israeli settlement activity has severely undermined Palestintian trust ... it prejudges the outcome of negotiations and in doing so cripples chances for real peace and security.”

“The US has long opposed settlement activity ... settlement activity must stop.”

He also signaled that Washington had not discounted the idea of a third-party monitoring force to judge on the ground compliance to commitments made by both parties.