ThePalestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat said today he was ready to do "whatever is necessary" for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in a joint effort with Israel.
He also condemned last night’s suicide bomb in Tel Aviv.
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Mr Yasser Arafat
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"We have exerted and we will now exert our utmost efforts to stop the bloodshed of our peopleand the Israeli people, and to do all that is needed to achieve an immediate and unconditional, real and effective ceasefire," Mr Arafat said.
Of the Tel Aviv bombing, he said: "I repeat our condemnation of this tragic operation against civilians and of all operations that result in the killing of civilians, Palestinian or Israeli."
Palestinian minister Mr Saeb Erakat calledfor the "immediate" and "urgent" return of US Mideast envoy Mr William Burns to the region to help work for a ceasefire.
MrArafat was speaking as the Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon met his security cabinet to consider retaliatory measures for the Tel Aviv bomb widely expected to include military action against the Palestinian Authority.
Mr Sharon last week announced a partial Israeli ceasefire which Palestinian leaders dismissed as a propaganda sham.