Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat ordered his security services tonight in a written statement to "implement a total and immediate ceasefire on Israeli targets", an official Palestinian source said.
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Mr Yasser Arafat
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For the first time, Mr Arafat said today he was ready to do "whatever is necessary to achieve an immediate and unconditional ceasefire" with Israel.
His pledge came after a suicide attack in Tel Aviv last night which killed the bomber, 18 Israelis and injured more than a hundred.
According to Israeli public radio, Israel's inner security cabinet - chaired by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon - gave Arafat no more than 24 hours to prove he wants to work to calm the violent situation in the region.
In a series of telephone call earlier this evening, US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell and world leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon and Mr Arafat discussed the need to halt violence in the Middle East, a USState Department official said.
"They discussed the need for an immediate and unconditional cessation of violence," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said Mr Powell "encouraged Arafat to take concrete steps to achieve that."
He also spoke with German Foreign Minister Mr Joschka Fischer, Russian Foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov, EU High Representative for Security and Foreign Policy Mr Javier Solana and UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan, according to the state department official.
AFP