Bush phones world leaders on Mideast

CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush worked the phones from his Texas ranch early Saturday, talking with international leaders about the violence in the Middle East and U.S. efforts to achieve a cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians.

Part of that effort is a resolution passed early Saturday by the United Nations Security Council, calling on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian areas. The Bush administration worked closely with the Norwegian government in drafting the resolution.

"We support the resolution, we voted for it and we helped draft it," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe on Saturday. "We were willing to work with the U.N. to draft a resolution that could be agreed to."

Johndroe said President Bush placed calls Saturday morning to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah of Jordan, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

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The president also spoke by phone early Saturday with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

In addition, Powell spoke Saturday to Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa.

Late Friday, the president relayed his instructions on the U.S. approach to the U.N. resolution through Powell and Rice, who then advised John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on how to proceed.

Johndroe said the U.N. resolution, which also calls for a cease-fire and an end to Palestinian terrorism, is consistent with the U.S. reaction to Israel's assault on the Ramallah compound of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian suicide bombing attacks against Israelis in Netanya and Jerusalem this week.

Other administration officials said the United States accepted a call for an Israeli withdrawal only after it was able to include references in the resolution to a cease-fire and a call for an end to Palestinian terrorism.

The officials said the U.S. pursuit of a cease-fire and implementation of the George Tenet security plan includes calls for Israeli withdrawal from certain positions in the occupied territories, although the Tenet plan pre-dates the Ramallah assault. The Tenet plan calls for negotiating a cease-fire. (More on the Tenet plan)

The Bush administration was under intense international pressure to speak out against the Israeli military assault, which drew protests from Arab nations, the European Union and Russia.

Powell said Friday that Israel should "carefully consider the consequences" of the raid on Ramallah and any other military activities being contemplated.

"The president and I are gravely concerned at the situation in Ramallah," Powell said Friday at the State Department. "We deplore the killing and wounding of innocent Palestinians."

The Bush administration also condemned Palestinian terror attacks, with Powell saying it was these acts of violence that had "dealt a serious blow to the efforts to achieve a cease-fire."