Bush favours "temporary" Palestinian state: Powell

BEIRUT: US President George W. Bush favours the creation of a "temporary state" for the Palestinians ahead of a full-fledged state, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in an interview published on Wednesday.


"The president did not give up his objective but he knows that to reach his goal a temporary Palestinian state as an interim phase and maybe other measures would be necessary," Powell told the Arabic-language Saudi daily Al-Hayat.


Such a formula, according to Powell, would "allow the Palestinians to achieve their hopes and dreams, and secure the confidence of the international community".


But Powell cautioned that a temporary state needed to rely on "a democratic power, transparency without corruption and effective security agencies".


"This will help to develop the necessary confidence between the two parties (Palestinians and Israel) in order to push forward," Powell told Al-Hayat, which is published in Beirut and other Arab capitals.