Powell Reports 'progress' on a Ceasefire

The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, today said that he was making "progress" in securing a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians.

After talks with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, today he will meet the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, tomorrow before flying to Egypt.

"I think we are making progress," Mr Powell said, but did not explain further.

But a Palestinian official speaking anonymously to the Associated Press has said that a ceasefire is unlikely, claiming that efforts to form a joint US-Palestinian statement collapsed because the Palestinians insisted on guarantees for eventual statehood in the document.

Mr Sharon is, in addition, vowing to keep Israeli troops in Ramallah and Bethlehem until suspected militants in the towns surrender.

Mr Arafat is hedging on his commitment to curb violence until Israel pulls out.

Israeli tanks rolled into three Palestinian suburbs of Jerusalem this morning and briefly re-entered the West Bank town of Tulkarem.

A resident of one of the suburbs, the Palestinian parliament speaker, Ahmed Qureia, said the raids went against a pledge from Mr Sharon to begin pulling back soldiers.

It is the first time Israeli troops had entered the Abu Dis suburb since the 1967 Six Day War.

"What is needed is to stop these incursions and to withdraw immediately from Palestinian cities and villages," he said.

"Unfortunately, these incursions are taking place while secretary Powell is in the country."

In a further blow to US efforts, Syria denounced Mr Sharon's proposal for a new Arab-Israeli peace conference, with the ruling party newspaper calling it a "dirty maneuver that is totally rejected".

In Nablus troops continued to make arrests, ordering men out of apartment buildings. Among those detained and handcuffed was a Palestinian journalist, Mohammed Daraghmeh.

Dan Seaman, the director of the Israeli government's press office, said: "There's no immunity for journalists. He is a Palestinian, and he was arrested like thousands of other Palestinians. He'll be questioned, and if there's no problem he'll be released."