Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat has told Osama bin Laden to stop claiming he was fighting for the Palestinians and dismissed Israeli charges that al-Qaeda is active in the Palestinian territories.
"Why is bin Laden talking about Palestine now?" the Palestinian president was quoted as saying in an interview with Britain's Sunday Times.
"He never helped us. He was working in another, completely different area and against our interests."
With Washington's "war on terrorism" now turning on Iraq's alleged chemical, biological and nuclear arms, Israel sent Defence Minister Mr Shaul Mofaz to the United States for talks.
Israeli media said his three-day visit was aimed at co-ordinating the Jewish state's preparations for any armed conflict in the Gulf. Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War, causing heavy damage but few casualties.
Tension over Iraq has overshadowed international efforts to resolve a more than two-year-old Palestinian uprising in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said recently that al- Qaeda had established a presence in Palestinian-ruled areas of Gaza, as well as in Lebanon.
But in an interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Mr Arafat dismissed Mr Sharon's charges as "big, big lies".
The Palestinian leader also demanded that al-Qaeda's leader, Saudi-born bin Laden, stop exploiting the Palestinian cause to further his own interests.
Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for two attacks on Israeli tourists in Kenya last month, calling them revenge for Israel's military countermeasures against the Palestinians.
"I'm telling him (bin Laden) directly not to hide behind the Palestinian cause," Arafat told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Israel's cabinet decided today to bar Mr Arafat from travelling to Bethlehem for Christmas celebrations in the biblical town revered as the birthplace of Jesus.
"Arafat will not be allowed to go into Bethlehem on Christmas and Israeli troops will not pull out," an Israeli diplomatic source said, announcing the decision taken at the weekly meeting of Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon's cabinet.
The diplomatic source said Israeli troops in Bethlehem would keep "normal security procedures in place" while allowing foreign pilgrims, Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and Israeli Christians into the city for Christmas celebrations.