Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should give "serious consideration" to lifting a travel ban on Mr Yasser Arafat and allowing the Palestinian leader to attend this week's Arab summit meeting in Lebanon, the White House said today.
Spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer said US President George W Bush also believed it was time for Arab nations "to seize the moment" and support a Saudi-inspired land-for-peace deal with Israel.
Israel wants Mr Arafat to go to Beirut, Lebanon, only if he agrees to a truce after 18 months of violence. The Bush administration is encouraging Mr Sharon to let him attend, hoping his presence will lend momentum to the peace initiative proposed by Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
"The president believes that Prime Minister Sharon and the Israeli government should give serious consideration to allowing Yasser Arafat to attend the meeting in Beirut," Mr Fleischer said.
"The president wants to see the meeting in Beirut focus on ideas for peace and the president believes that the Saudi Arabian initiative is an idea that deserves to be focused on," he told reporters. Mr Sharon was due to convene key ministers this evening to consider lifting a travel ban on Mr Arafat. And truce talks that made no progress yesterday were expected to resume when the sides had considered new US ideas.
But Israeli political sources said Mr Sharon would not announce a decision on lifting the ban until he consults Foreign Minister Shimon Peres tomorrow on his return from China.