U.S. seeks answers from Israeli leader, action from Arafat

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that getting rid of Hamas and other terrorist organizations is the key to peace and security for Israel and statehood for the Palestinians.

At a news conference, Powell said Yasser Arafat must "go after these organizations," and that the administration was enlisting European governments to help make the same pitch to the Palestinian leader.

"They are more likely to destroy the Palestinian cause than to destroy the state of Israel," Powell said of the militant groups that have carried out a series of bloody attacks on Israeli civilians. "And that's why Mr. Arafat has the burden upon him right now to act very aggressively."

Powell talked to some half-dozen European foreign ministers by telephone to ask them "to deliver the same message to Mr. Arafat."

While the administration was not asking the Europeans to bar visits by the Palestinian leader, "he should focus his attention at home," Powell said.

Powell spoke to Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Wednesday and directed two U.S. envoys to seek an explanation from the prime minister for his decision to cut off contact with Arafat.

"Obviously, we are not in a position to put specific constraints on him, but we are in constant discussion about the implications of such actions," Powell said.

He said he would reserve judgment on Israel's shunning of Arafat until he gets a report from U.S. mediator Anthony Zinni and U.S. ambassador Daniel Kertzer on their meeting with the prime minister.

Powell said he also wanted to know how Sharon "sees the way forward."

And Powell chided the prime minister for dispatching Israeli troops and tanks to Palestinian areas and keeping them there for long periods of time.

The question for Sharon, Powell said, was "does it actually provide you security over time or is it just another destabilizing element?"

At the same time, Powell said the United States would not cease its effort to reopen negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

On a related front, David Carpenter, the assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, said an advertising campaign was being prepared in order to get information leading to the arrest and conviction of Palestinians who killed Americans in Israel and on the West Bank and in Gaza.