Russia has demanded that the Israeli army lift the siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's West Bank headquarters.
Russia's Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov , said it was absolutely essential to do everything to end violence immediately. Ivanov made telephone calls to Arafat, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Arab League chief Amr Mussa among others.
"In this context, it is important to end the siege and destruction of the headquarters of the head of the Palestinian administration and give the Palestinian authorities a real chance to impose order on their territory, put a stop to extremist attacks and arrest those guilty of terrorist acts," he added.
The Israeli army moved into Arafat's headquarters compound late on Thursday after two suicide bombings in Israel. By Saturday it had demolished all but the building housing Arafat's offices.
Russia is a co-sponsor of the stalled Middle East peace process and a member of the international quartet of mediators along with Washington, the United Nations and the European Union.
Ivanov, who also spoke to the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Denmark, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, said everyone agreed on the need for international action.
"All agreed that at this critical moment all mechanisms should be used to stabilise the situation as soon as possible. You have to make use of the UN Security Council, international mediators and key Middle Eastern countries to stop the conflict from spreading and unblock the path towards the peace process," he said.
During the phone conversation with Ivanov Saturday, Peres told him that Israel had no intention of harming Arafat, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.
But during an earlier conversation with Solana, Peres said Israel was not prepared to sit back and let its citizens be killed.
AFP