Powell set for Arafat meeting

US Secretary of State Colin Powell is to meet Yasser Arafat on Sunday morning, after the Palestinian leader made a public statement condemning terrorism.

The statement had been a condition set by the Americans before the meeting - postponed on Friday after a suicide bomb attack in Jerusalem - could go ahead. A BBC correspondent travelling with Mr Powell says he will want to convert Mr Arafat's assurances that he is against terrorism into effective action. But our correspondent says Mr Powell's position will be weakened by his failure to secure an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

The secretary of state has also issued his own statement expressing concern at the desperate humanitarian situation faced by Palestinians in the West Bank. On Sunday, Palestinian human rights groups will appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court to prevent the army from burying people killed in Jenin in mass graves. The Palestinians have called for an international inquiry into the situation at Jenin refugee camp, where hundreds of Palestinians are reported to have been killed during the past week. Israeli forces remain in control of four of the main Palestinian towns on the West Bank - Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus

Clear stand

Issued in Arabic, Mr Arafat's statement made special reference to Friday's suicide attack in west Jerusalem which killed six Israelis. It followed a US call for Palestinians to make a clear stand against terrorism and was broadcast on Palestinian TV, in line with US demands.

But Israeli sources rejected the statement, describing Mr Arafat as saying one thing and doing another. "We cannot be impressed by any condemnation," said Danny Ayalon, an advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "We want deeds, not words." Mr Arafat's statement came hours after Israeli forces reportedly made new incursions into Palestinian territory on the West Bank. The army moved into the towns of Arabe and Hashmiyah, near Jenin, and the village of Birqin, placing citizens under curfew. Mr Powell meanwhile met church leaders in Jerusalem, who urged him to use his influence to help those trapped inside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. More than 200 people, including a group of Palestinian gunmen, are being besieged there by Israeli troops. Palestinians trapped in the church say a 26-year-old civilian, Hassan Nasman, was shot dead by Israeli snipers on Saturday. The Israeli military said he was preparing to open fire at soldiers.

'Crimes and massacres' The Palestinian statement said Mr Arafat and his aides "firmly condemn operations targeting Israeli civilians, particularly the recent one in Jerusalem".

Peace protesters in Tel Aviv

demand an Israeli withdrawal

It added that: "We firmly condemn the crimes and massacres committed by the Israeli occupation forces against civilians and Palestinian refugees at Nablus, the Jenin camp, the church in Bethlehem and other Palestinian zones in recent weeks." Mr Powell's mission was thrown into crisis when a female suicide bomber detonated explosives at a bus stop on Jaffa Road, west Jerusalem, on Friday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the secretary of state had been unable to persuade Prime Minister Sharon to provide a timetable for withdrawing his troops. In an apparent rebuke to the Bush administration, Mr Sharon said: "Nobody will force upon us any decisions or resolutions that might affect our future."