As Israelis head to polls, U.S. urges restraint in Mideast

CHAT TRANSCRIPT Israeli Ambassador Alon Pinkas on Israel's election for prime minister

In this story: Powell pledges continued U.S. involvement 'Unambiguous signal' needed, analyst says RELATED STORIES, SITES

From State Department Producer Elise Labott

WASHINGTON (CNN) - With right-wing opposition leader Ariel Sharon continuing to lead by a wide margin in Tuesday's Israeli election for prime minister, the Bush administration is warning both Israelis and Palestinians to exercise restraint.

"What's important is for ... the Israelis and Palestinians, to remember that it's a time to maintain calm and to avoid any sort of provocation," U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Monday. "We all want to go through this period with minimal violence."

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Sunday of "very, very big trouble in that part of the world if we don't see restraint on both sides" when the election returns come in.

Israeli voters head to the polls Tuesday to vote for prime minister. Conservative Likud party lead Sharon is challenging incumbent Prime Minister Ehud Barak . The election comes as Powell, who is expected to take the lead role for the United States with the Mideast peace process, is putting together his own team of advisers.

"What the Bush administration needs to do is ... make their own assessment exactly what the landscape is," said former U.S. Mideast envoy Dennis Ross. "What's possible, what's meaningful. And if they focus that way, that will inevitably take some time."

VIDEO CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney has more on the Israeli elections (February 5) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    AUDIO Benny Elon, Knesset member, explains what the election means for Jewish settlers 286K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports on how Palestinians view the election 905K/84 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Zalman Shovel, Likud Party official, analyses future Israel U.S. relationship 907K/84 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Barak tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour "now is a crucial stage of the peace process" 277K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    IN DEPTH In-Depth: Israel Election 2001 Timeline gallery: Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon Key issues: U.S., Israeli and Palestinian views Recent acts of violence in the Middle East:  •  Bombings  •  Activist deaths     CHAT TRANSCRIPT Israeli Ambassador Alon Pinkas on the election     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace

A former Israeli military commander, defense minister and foreign minister, Sharon has campaigned to shake off a warlike image. But his increasingly likely election victory has raised concern among Israeli Arabs and leaders throughout the Arab world.

Last September 28, Sharon visited a Jerusalem site known as the Temple Mount by Jews and al-Haram al-Sharif by Muslims. Palestinians have blamed Sharon's visit for sparking violent clashes and endangering the peace process.

Powell pledges continued U.S. involvement

In addition to their anxiety about Sharon, Arab leaders have expressed concern that President Bush will not be as involved in the Middle East peace process as his predecessor, former President Clinton.

Privately, U.S. officials have suggested they would rather spend more time on a broader range of Middle East issues -- such as containing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and curbing weapons proliferation in Iran -- than focus solely on an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

But Powell has insisted that the United States will continue to be an "honest broker" to the parties.

"The United States is going to be engaged," he said. "I'm prepared to personally engage. President Bush is prepared to engage." But, Powell added, "only after we have an indication of where the two sides are."

That message was also delivered to key U.S. allies in the region. In phone calls with Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah, Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Bush urged the leaders to allow Sharon sufficient time to settle in.

Bush also used the opportunity to explain his plans to take a much broader policy approach in the Middle East.

'Unambiguous signal' needed, analyst says

David Makovsky, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said if clashes between Israelis and Palestinians continue after Sharon's election, shifting gears away from the conflict toward other regional concerns in Middle East may not be so easy.

"If things get out of hand, this could cause some of the Arabs discomfort and there is a chance of seeing the U.S. come back, but through the back door," he said.

Makovsky said U.S. assurances -- should Sharon win -- will be crucial to easing Arab fears and preserving peace in the region.

"The key is for the U.S. to send an unambiguous signal that it wants to see a cooling-off period," Makovsky said. "Especially until it is clear what kind of policies, what kind of government Sharon will be able to put together."

Ross, who spent countless hours negotiating with Israelis and Palestinians, suggested that Sharon may not be the only barrier to a comprehensive peace deal between the parties. Even with what was by all accounts far-reaching concessions by Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was unable to strike a deal.

"Not withstanding the unique confluence of circumstances, he (Arafat) was not able to take advantage of that opportunity," Ross told CNN.

"I think we've seen over the course of the last year is that Chairman Arafat may well be committed to wanting to live in peace with Israel, but his own capacity at this stage to reach a permanent agreement is at least something that has to be questioned."

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Israeli Prime Minister's Office
Knesset, The Israeli Parliament
Likud
Meretz Party
Avoda (Labour) Party
World Economic Forum
Palestinian National Authority
PLO Negotiations Affairs Department
Israel Defense Forces
Palestinian Red Crescent
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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