Bush appeals to Arafat, Sharon

WASHINGTON - United States President George W. Bush tried yesterday to keep alive a fragile Mideast ceasefire, speaking by telephone with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and announcing plans to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region next week.

Bush spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and made a rare telephone call to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to urge all sides to honour a Middle East ceasefire brokered by CIA director George Tenet last week.

"The President thinks it's very important for all parties in the region to seize the opportunity that has been created as a result of the mission that director Tenet took to the Middle East that has created this fragile ceasefire," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

After the 10-minute Bush-Arafat call, US National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said: "The President urged chairman Arafat to seize the moment and work with 100 per centeffort to reduce violence and fight terrorism."

In all, five Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed since the ceasefire went into effect on Wednesday last week.

At least 461 Palestinians, 116 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have died in violence that erupted last September.

In the most recent violence since the latest ceasefire began, a Palestinian and a Jewish settler were shot dead in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank.

Bush had initially taken a more hands-off approach to the Middle East conflict than former President Bill Clinton, but he has become more engaged to try to halt what appeared to be a descent toward all-out war between Israelis and Palestinians.

Bush's decision to telephone Arafat marked a slight departure for the White House, which has held Arafat at arm's length while demanding that he do more to stop the violence.

Bush is scheduled to meet Sharon in Washington next Wednesday - their second meeting since the Republican President took office on January 20 - but he has yet to sit down with Arafat.

In addition to calling Sharon and Arafat, the White House said Bush spoke to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and thanked him for his efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.

Israel pledged to stick to the ceasefire deal, but said it would not fully lift its blockade of Palestinian towns and villages until attacks on Israelis stopped.

Israel and the Palestinians regard the ceasefire agreement as a first step in implementing a wider peace plan sketched by a committee led by former US Senator George Mitchell.

The Mitchell proposals envisage a cooling-off period - the United States has suggested six weeks, the Palestinians two - followed by confidence-building measures that include a freeze of building at Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

- REUTERS

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