Cheney calls for both sides to end Mideast bloodshed

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt -- Vice President Dick Cheney said Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinians share the burden of ending Middle East bloodshed. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with Cheney and promised to apply pressure.

At a news conference with Cheney at this Red Sea resort, Mubarak also addressed another difficult Mideast issue, saying he believes Iraq's Saddam Hussein is close to agreeing to allow the return of U.N. weapons inspectors.

One of Cheney's missions on his trip to the region -- to make a case for widening the war on terrorism to include Iraq -- has been overshadowed by the spiraling loss of life in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The United States will do all it can to end the tragic violence between Palestinians and Israelis and to resume a serious negotiating process," Cheney said.

The Bush administration, which has demanded that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat do more to end the violence, has lately been more openly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Cheney said he "thinks the burden is on both parties to bring an end to the violence."

Mubarak said he and Cheney agreed to make "extensive efforts" to try to put into place an initiative by CIA Director George Tenet and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.

The plan calls for an end to violence, to be followed by measures to restore mutual confidence and a return to negotiations for a political settlement.

Mubarak said that Israel's increasingly fierce reprisals against Palestinians "cannot be tolerated and must be immediately stopped."