Bush: Attacks in Israel are 'outrageous'

All parties must 'reject this terror'

Bush: "The world must do everything in its power to prevent the few from creating misery for the many."

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Condemning the recent attacks against Israeli civilians, President Bush Friday called on all parties in the Middle East "to do everything they can to reject this terror."

"It's outrageous and ... it's got to be stopped," Bush told reporters while visiting a senior center in Orlando, Florida to tout his new physical fitness program.

Bush, in his first public comments since deciding to hold off unveiling his new peace blueprint for the Middle East, said there are people in the region who "want to use violence to destroy any hopes for peace."

"The world must do everything in its power to prevent the few from creating misery for the many," he said.

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Bush said he'd give his speech outlining his new plan when he's "ready" to give it. Senior officials said Bush hoped to offer his framework for Israeli-Palestinian progress next week, but had not settled on a firm date.

Bush also defended Israel's response to the recent terrorist attacks.

"I fully recognize that Israel's got the right to defend herself," Bush said.

The White House on Friday was dismissive of a statement from Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat that he is now ready to accept a peace plan he rejected in the closing days of the Clinton administration.

Arafat told the Jerusalem daily Ha'aretz he would accept the peace plan that was developed at Camp David and then refined in later negotiations in Taba, Egypt -- a proposal Arafat rejected at the time, frustrating the Clinton administration and then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

When he took office, the current Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said Barak's proposals no longer were on the table.

Arafat's comments came just after on of his senior advisers, Nabil Shaath, told senior U.S. officials that Palestinian officials were prepared to make a number of compromises for peace, including stepping back from a long-standing demand that Palestinian refugees have a right to return to Israel.

Top Bush administration advisers played down the significance of the Palestinian statements, suggesting the statements regarding peace would be viewed as more credible if Arafat took firm actions to crack down on terrorist activity based in the Palestinian territories.

When asked about Arafat's latest comments, one official involved in the White House discussions about Bush's new framework said it would be based on the president's views and from "the months of listening to his advisers and talking and listening to our friends in the region."

Bush has never met with Arafat and has made no effort to talk to him as he considered the new U.S. approach. Senior Bush advisers have said the new framework is centered around political and security reforms within the Palestinian Authority that are in part designed to reduce Arafat's day-to-day role in Palestinian affairs and decision-making.

-- CNN White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace contributed to this report.