US House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt said today Palestinian President Yasser Arafat should do more to clamp down on violence following new bloodshed which threatens to dash peace prospects.
"We want Mr Arafat and the Palestinians to do much more in the area of stopping the violence and stopping the terrorism," Mr Gephardt told reporters on the last stop of a regional tour by delegates from the House of Representatives.
"There has to be more action. The words are in place. The actions are what are missing at this point," he said.
The new cycle of violence has dealt a severe blow to US efforts to cement a ceasefire that Mr Arafat announced on December 16th under international pressure to rein in Islamic militants after a wave of suicide bombings.
"My hope is that Mr Arafat and others on the Palestinian side will see a different way...We have provided a list of people who have been involved in terrorism that should be arrested. Some have been," the Missouri Democrat said.
"We now need more action," he said.