Palestinian head asked to clamp down on terror

WASHINGTON -- President Bush made a direct appeal Tuesday to new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to clamp down on terror attacks against Israel while also reassuring Abbas that the United States still intends to help create a Palestinian state in 2005.

The telephone call was Bush's first contact with Abbas, whose appointment followed a presidential boycott of Yasser Arafat and gave the Bush administration a way to try to bypass the longtime head of the Palestinian movement.

In an Arab television interview, however, Abbas reaffirmed his support for Arafat as the Palestinians' legitimate leader and accused Israel of trying to make Arafat a scapegoat.

From the outset, Bush dismissed Arafat as both ineffective and involved in terror. While Bush never invited Arafat to the White House, in contrast to the attention lavished on the Palestinian by Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton, Abbas is expected to be asked to see Bush in Washington in the months ahead.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that in their 15-minute conversation, Bush "reiterated his commitment to the security of the state of Israel."