"I think we should be optimistic. We've seen positive developments over the weekend with the security agreement between Israel and (the) Palestinian Authority to turn over responsibility for the Gaza Strip from Israel to the Palestinian Authority," Secretary of State Colin Powell said on ABC's "Good Morning America" program, referring to an agreement between Israelis and the Palestinians over a partial Israeli troop withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

"They worked very hard on his turnover over the last week or so. I'm glad it came to a successful conclusion and it didn't take them long to executive," Powell added.

But the secretary, in a flurry of appearances on US television networks on Monday morning, reiterated that militant Palestinian groups like the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad should be disarmed even though these groups declared a three-month halt to attacks on Israel on Sunday.

"We want the terrorists disarmed," he said on CBC's "The Early Show" on Monday, noting that Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas cannot be the prime minister of a Palestinian state based on "democratic principles" if groups like Hamas continue to undermine the peace process.

He urged the Palestinians to "invest their future" in the leadership of Prime Minister Abbas and look away from militant groups like Hamas.

Speaking to reporters Monday, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer stroke a more cautious note.

"The president (George W. Bush) is hopeful but he's realistic. The Middle East is an area where on a good day they take two steps forward, one step backward," he said.

"He also is cognizant that there likely will be days when there are two steps backward for one step forward. Perhaps we are on the door of a quieter day in the Middle East, We'll see," Fleischer added.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2003)