Powell to press Arafat for action, calls on Israel to show rest

JERUSALEM -- Struggling to salvage his peace mission, Secretary of State Colin Powell will press Yasser Arafat when they meet today to take "effective action" to end Palestinian attacks against Israel. Powell also is calling for restraint by Israeli forces on the West Bank.

Acting on the Palestinian leader's denunciation of terror in a statement the White House demanded, Powell rescheduled Saturday's postponed meeting with Arafat and other senior Palestinians in Ramallah.

The statement contained "a number of interesting and positive elements," including condemnation of terror, a Jerusalem bombing on Friday and a reaffirmation of a Palestinian commitment to a negotiated peace with Israel, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Also, the statement called for immediate implementation of a shelved cease-fire plan prepared by CIA Director George Tenet, Boucher said.

"The secretary will work with Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian leadership to show leadership and to help make these statements a reality, with effective action to bring an end to terror and violence and an early resumption of a political process," Boucher said.

Synchronized diplomacy

Powell consulted by telephone with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and European officials before deciding to go ahead with the meeting.

In what appeared to be synchronized diplomacy, Powell said Israeli troops must refrain from "excessive use of force," and singled out Jenin, the embattled Palestinian town, for special concern.

"We are particularly concerned at the humanitarian situation," Powell said of Israeli operations in Jenin that Palestinian and outside observers have condemned as heavy-handed.

Arafat responded with his statement denouncing terrorism. It was the kind of statement President Bush was looking for so Powell could go ahead with the meeting in Ramallah, where the Palestinian leader has been confined in his office by Israeli troops.

The statement condemned the Jerusalem bombing, which killed six people and injured scores and prompted Powell to put off his meeting with Arafat.

"We are condemning strongly all the attacks which are targeting civilians from both sides and especially the attack that took place against Israeli citizens yesterday in Jerusalem," the statement said.

But Arafat also lashed out at Israel's West Bank operation: "We also condemn very strongly the massacre that was committed by the Israeli occupation troops against our refugees in Jenin and against our people in Ramallah, Nablus and Tulkarem and also the brutal aggression against the church in Bethlehem during the last two weeks."

Israeli forces moved into more West Bank villages Saturday, and sporadic fighting continued, especially in Nablus where seven Israeli tanks began shelling the main local government complex.

Arafat's statement, in Arabic, was distributed by the Palestinian news service WAFA and was read several times on Palestinian television and radio, giving it the circulation the Bush administration wanted.