US Secretary of State Colin Powell has sounded a hopeful note over the Middle East peace.
"Today we have reached a hopeful moment when progress may again be possible," said Mr Powell in Washington, addressing a meeting here of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an influential lobby group.
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The note of optimism came despite a new suicide bombing in Israel that claimed the life of the assailant and left 26 people injured, and the broadening US-British military operation in Iraq, which has drawn widespread condemnation in the Arab world.
Mr Powell denounced the bombing, calling it "a cowardly act", but he also took heart in the recent election of Mr Mahmud Abbas, a moderate Palestinian politician, to the newly created post of prime minister, which is designed as a counterweight to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.
Mr Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, is engaged in political talks to form a national unity government, which will have to be approved by the Palestinian Legislative Council. However, Mr Powell said he was encouraged by the new prime minister's powers.But he warned that the administration of President George W. Bush would be watching "very carefully" how the new prime minister exercises his authority, "which is so important for Palestinian hopes for better future".
Mr Powell repeated the US promise to unveil a roadmap for peace, a broad plan for achieving a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East put together with the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, as soon as Mr Abbas and his cabinet are confirmed.
The roadmap calls for the creation of a viable Palestinian state by 2005. Mr Powell stressed the need for genuine good will from both Israelis and Palestinians.
He said Palestinian violence was incompatible with President Bush's vision of regional peace, arguing that "terror must end". Israel, for its part, must help revive the economy of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and "diminish the daily humiliation of life under occupation," said the secretary of state.
"Settlement activity is simply inconsistent with President Bush's two-state vision," Mr Powell said.
AFP