U.S. questions Arafat's grip on Palestinian militants

AP Diplomatic WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- As Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared war on terror Monday, the White House pressed Yasser Arafat to crack down on Palestinians whose suicide bombings killed at least 26 people over the weekend.

"Chairman Arafat has an obligation to make a 100 percent effort," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said as Israeli missiles slammed into the West Bank and Gaza.

Mindful that the Palestinian Authority often has quickly released detained terrorists, Fleischer said: "The president thinks it's very important that the Palestinian jails not only have bars on front, but no longer have revolving doors at the back."

In Jerusalem, Sharon told the Israeli people that "Israel and the United States stand together." In Washington, as support for Arafat as the Palestinians' unquestioned leader began to fade, the Bush administration stressed its support for Israel.

"The President's point of view is Israel is a sovereign power," Fleischer said. "Israel has a right to defend itself."

Fleischer again called on Arafat to do everything in his power to combat terror.

A senior U.S. official told The Associated Press that the administration has conveyed to Arafat that his time could be running out for clamping down on Hamas and other terrorist groups. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called Israel's missile attack in Gaza and on the West Bank a warning shot and not the beginning of an all-out war.

Even so, Sharon's message was ominous. "Arafat made his strategic choice, choosing a strategy of terror, choosing to achieve his political goals by murder, by slaughtering innocent citizens," the former general said.

"Arafat is responsible for everything that is happening," Sharon said.

In Washington, spokesman Fleischer gave credence to the impression that President Bush, in a meeting Sunday with Sharon, did not attempt to stop the Israelis from striking back.

"Obviously, Israel has a right to defend herself and the president understands that clearly," Fleischer said.

The senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged it was virtually impossible for Bush to "tell Israel to hold its fire while we're chasing al-Qaida around Afghanistan."

Bush "has believed for quite a period of time that Yasser Arafat is capable of doing much more than he has ever done and now the burden is on him even heavier to show it," Fleischer said.

"What's new and different is the severity of the violence that rocked Israel over the weekend and the outrage that world feels about the murder of all the innocents in Israel. It's important that Chairman Arafat move beyond where he has been before -- to take concrete actions, to show that this is not the way of the future and it should not be the way of the present," the spokesman said.

Bush, confronting new uncertainty about a fragile anti-terror coalition that relies on Arab support, canceled his only scheduled appearance before reporters on Monday.

Earlier, Sharon held emergency consultations with key Cabinet ministers in Jerusalem to decide on an Israeli response to the suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa.

"This is a real opportunity for Chairman Arafat to show in actions, not words, that he stands for peace, and that he will take action that is enduring and meaningful against the terrorists and those who sponsored the terrorist attacks that took place in Israel," Fleischer said.

Bush on Sunday denounced the weekend attacks as "horrific acts of murder" and conferred with Sharon for about an hour at the White House. Sharon then flew home for a Cabinet meeting Monday.

Sharon told Bush that Israel would respond to terror as best it could, a senior Israeli official said.

There was no indication Bush had sought to persuade the Israeli leader to hold back. Arafat "must do everything in his power to find those who murdered innocent Israelis and bring them to justice," the president said.

White House officials said Bush expects Arafat to break up Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, groups that the United States believes trains and supports suicide attackers.

"You've got to go after the organizations who are conducting these kinds of acts of terror," Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." He said that means "putting them in real jails where they are not walking free several days later." The rhetoric, a dramatic shift in tone, was meant to intensify pressure on Arafat, White House officials said.

With 25 people killed and nearly 200 wounded by three suicide bombers, Arafat ordered dozens of Islamic militants arrested and promised harsh action. But Israel was deeply skeptical, with hard-liners calling for removal of the Palestinian leader.

George Mitchell, the former Senate majority leader whose commission devised recommendations for peacemaking that would follow a cease-fire, said Monday it is unlikely that the process would be better without Arafat. "I think there would be internal conflict and the successor could most likely be out of the factions that are creating the problems," he said on CBS' "The Early Show."

Mitchell said the latest violence could be the trigger for serious steps toward peace because "things are getting so bad that both sides will recognize that life is unbearable. ... I believe they will turn a corner because things are so bad and they can't continue with this conflict. Peace is the only alternative."