Sharon calls off truce talks in attempt to isolate Arafat

Israel's prime minster, Ariel Sharon, has called off truce talks with the Palestinians in a further move to isolate and pressurise a beleaguered Yasser Arafat in the aftermath of the atrocities in America.

Sources close to Mr Sharon said he had cancelled the talks ­ planned for Sunday ­ between his Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, and the Palestinian leader, who is reeling from the devastating fall-out of the attacks. Mr Peres, however, in remarks on Israeli television, said he would continue to press Mr Sharon for the talks to be held.

The talks were already in doubt, not least because right-wing Israelis were fiercely opposed to going ahead with them, despite pressure from the US and others to do so.

Israel and the US have seized on the worldwide outrage caused by the attacks on America to pressurise Mr Arafat into trying to bring an end to the latest Palestinian intifada and to arrest and jail militant guerrilla groups. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have repeatedly used suicide bombers to kill Israeli civilians.

With the world ready to mobilise to stamp out violent Islamist extremist groups, Mr Peres has called upon Mr Arafat to make a choice between "renouncing the world of terrorism" or facing the consequences.

Mr Sharon's decision will please his fellow right-wingers who have been demanding that the government seizes the opportunity to isolate Mr Arafat. The idea of talks between Mr Peres and Mr Arafat is "obscene", declared the Jerusalem Post yesterday. Mr Sharon has wasted no time in trying to turn the monstrous US tragedy to Israel's political advantage by reportedly calling Mr Arafat "our bin Laden" ­ although the massacre in America dwarfs any of the atrocities committed by either side in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian territorial conflict.

It is an effective, if cynical, strategy, which takes advantage of the new geopolitical reality ­ in which all Palestinian "terror" tactics, notably their repellent use of suicide bombers, will be met with zero tolerance.

With the ground slipping from under their feet ­ hastened by the ugly television scenes of Palestinians celebrating in the streets ­ Palestinian officials have tried to counter the international pressure by blaming Israel for "terrorism". They cite scores of assassinations, the military siege of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel's illegal 34-year occupation of Arab land, the routine killing of unarmed Arabs by Israeli troops, F-16 bombing raids, and regular helicopter and tank attacks.

Since Tuesday's horrifying events, 15 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops, mostly during battles which erupted when the Israeli armed forces sent tanks and troops into Jericho and Jenin, and two West Bank villages. The Israeli forces crossed deep into "Area A" ­ territory supposedly under full Palestinian control, before withdrawing.

Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the Israeli assaults were part of a new military plan called "Tightening the Grip", designed to increase pressure on Mr Arafat and his Palestinian Authority. Palestinian officials said yesterday that the Israelis had deployed more tanks around Tulkarm, Ramallah, Qalqilya and Salfit, all on the West Bank.

The Palestinians ­ who accuse Israel of exploiting the US situation to escalate its violence against them ­ have also continued to attack Israelis, firing several mortars yesterday from the Gaza Strip at the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing and at a nearby settlement.

On Wednesday ­ a day after the carnage in the US ­ Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli woman on the West Bank. Yesterday, fresh violence erupted in the Gaza Strip. Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian and Palestinians threatened more suicide attacks.

The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said last night: "I still hope that a way is found for the Israelis and the Palestinians to meet. When they meet is the judgement for them to make ... We believe a meeting is important to get the process started."