Cautious reaction to Mitchell committee report on Mideast crisis

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- A report released Monday by a five-man independent and international committee blamed both Israel and the Palestinian Authority for nearly eight months of violence that has wracked the Middle East.

Former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell's report calls for a freeze on Jewish settlements in Palestinian-controlled territories on the West Bank and Gaza, even natural growth of existing settlements. The Israelis maintain growth in existing settlements must be allowed. (More on the report)

Mitchell said he believed the conflict can be brought to an end.

"Conflicts are created and sustained by human beings and can be ended by human beings," he said.

As the report was being released Monday, Israel sent tanks into a Palestinian-controlled area of Gaza near Qarara, Palestinian officials said. Five Palestinians, they said, were injured. (More on Monday's violence)

Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said individual points in the report should not be taken out of context -- and that ending the violence should be a priority.

"You cannot select just one item ... there is no connection between the confidence-building measures and the cease-fire. Let's do first things first," he said. (Peres interview)

Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erakat welcomed the report.

"We accept the Mitchell report, and we will carry out our obligations emanating from that report, hoping that the Israelis will accept the Mitchell report as an integral part of the whole, and not to select this part and ignore the other part." (Erakat interview)

ON THE NEWS Mike Hanna: Searching for solutions in the Mideast     CNN ACCESS Peres: 'Our enemies are not the Palestinians' Erakat: Mitchell report can provide a way out Mitchell: No such thing 'as conflict that can't be ended'    VIDEO In an exclusive interview with CNN, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell talks about the report (May 21) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Watch the news conference by the Mitchell Committee (part 1) (May 21) Play video (Part 2) (May 21) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    AUDIO CNN's Mike Hanna: Implementation of Mitchell's report is difficult 843K/78 sec. AIFF or WAV sound EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana: We need an unconditional cessation of violence 550K/51 sec. AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Ben Wedeman: Arab countries try to increase U.S. involvement 493K/46 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    GALLERY Scenes of violence and grief   RESOURCES Full text of the Mitchell Committee's report (from the Meridian International Center website) Requires Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™ Click here to download the reader.    ALSO Mitchell-Rudman statement on Mideast report Reaction to Mitchell report focuses on issue of Jewish settlements Arab League ministers urge suspending political contact with Israel U.S. wants to see 'specific language' of Arab League document

Following the report's release, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he is dispatching U.S. diplomats to determine whether the Israelis and Palestinians can work out "a timeline and a sequence" for restarting negotiations.

He said he would decide what action to personally take after William Burns, the U.S. ambassador to Jordan, prepares a report.

"It's now time for both sides, with the help of the international community and the United States, to move forward on the basis of this report," Powell said.

Mitchell said his committee has no enforcement power and that whether the recommendations are followed is up to the two sides.

"Death and destruction will not solve the problems in the Middle East," Mitchell said. "They will only make things worse."

Addressing another highly disputed point, Mitchell said the violence could not be blamed on the September visit of right-wing leader and current Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to a religious site in Jerusalem that is holy to both Jews and Muslims. But the report did say Sharon's visit was "poorly timed" and its "provocative effect" should have been foreseen.

More than 500 people -- mostly Palestinians -- have been killed since the fighting started.

At a news conference Monday in New York, Mitchell called on both sides to enter a "cooling-off period."

The goal of the cooling-off period is to get the two sides back to the negotiating table, said Mitchell, adding he still believed that the two sides can negotiate an end to their conflict.

Powell said he would use the Mitchell report to increase his personal involvement in the Middle East crisis. In a news conference following the release of the committee report, Powell repeated Mitchell's call for both sides to end the fighting and said the United States will work with Israelis and Palestinians on a "framework" toward that end.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, Consul General Ron Schlicher and U.S. Ambassador to Jordan William Burns would be dispatched to the Mideast to "facilitate implementation of the report's recommendations," Powell said.

But Powell stressed that this is not the "time for shuttle diplomacy," a peace negotiation technique used extensively during the Clinton administration.

George Mitchell

A senior Bush administration official offered more details about the developing U.S. role in the Middle East.

"We want to seize this opportunity to test the parties in the Middle East to see if they are ready to take meaningful actions," the senior official told CNN.

"Violence is at its worst level, at least this year, and this report will be a good test of whether the parties are willing to take the steps necessary to end the violence."

The official said there was no change in administration policy, but that the Mitchell report provided an opportunity to spotlight the hard decisions that lay before the Palestinians and Israelis. "It's still up to the parties," the official said.

CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett and CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna contributed to this report.