The United States and Israel are still putting pressure on on Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat to make a breakthrough in the Middle East crisis.
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"We've got to get a ceasefire. I think the burden right now is on Mr Arafat to do more to get the violence down to zero," US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell told reporters yesterday.
Mr Powell’s claim followed US special envoy to the Middle East Mr Anthony Zinni’s ultimatum to both sides in which he said they had 48 hours to come up with a way forward or else he would end his mission.
In a signal to the Palestinians, the Israeli government held its weekly cabinet meeting at a military headquarters in the West Bank.
"We have not finished our operations. In light of what is happening, we may have to step up our activities," Israeli Prime Minister Mr Sharon said in broadcast remarks from the session.
A tentative offer of a seven-day truce by militants has met with a cool reception from Israel.
Earlier, the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Fatah's al-Aqsa Brigades and another group in Mr Arafat's faction issued a statement saying they would stop attacks inside Israel for a week if Israel halted its strikes.
A senior Israeli security official dismissed the offer, saying Israel had no choice but to continue to "act in self-defence" as long as the Palestinian Authority failed to "fight terrorism and make arrests".
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