Powell urges Arafat to head off attacks

RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Wednesday, urging him to head off any new terror attacks on Israel.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed the call had taken place, and said Powell had urged Arafat to curb the organizations carrying out the attacks.

Sources familiar with the conversation said Powell told Arafat that Israeli officials had information that a new, intense wave of terror attacks on Israel was being planned, and he urged Arafat to intervene.

Powell's call came amid an upsurge in violence in the region.

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On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces raided what the IDF described as a large explosives laboratory near Nablus. Four Palestinians whom Israel described as Hamas terrorists were killed.

Hamas, a militant Islamic group, issued a vow to declare "all out war" against Israel in revenge for the four deaths.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which Tuesday claimed responsibility after a gunman killed two Israelis and wounded 14 others at a bus stop in Jerusalem, said Wednesday it had completed attacks intended to avenge the killing of a Fatah leader and would resume honoring a cease-fire.

However, the brigades, the military wing of Arafat's Fatah movement, said in a leaflet distributed in Ramallah that it would resume attacks if Israel continued its campaign of assassinating Palestinian leaders.

The brigades launched a series of attacks on Israelis after Fatah leader Raed al-Karmi was killed January 14.

The group accused Israel of assassinating Karmi, who died when an explosion went off as he walked by a cemetery in his home town of Tulkarem.

Karmi had claimed responsibility for the deaths of two Tel Aviv restaurant owners a year ago. Israel, which had placed Karmi on its list of most-wanted suspects, also blamed him for the deaths of eight other Israelis.

The Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in Karmi's death. In the past, Israeli officials have said they have killed terrorists who were planning or trying to carry out attacks on Israelis.

This week's violence in the region were the latest developments in a recent upsurge that has seen increased attacks by Palestinian militants against Israeli soldiers and civilians followed by retaliatory strikes by Israel. Political relations between the two sides were further strained by the discovery of a shipload of missiles and other arms that Israel says was destined for the Palestinians.

Arafat has come under increasing pressure from the United States, Israel and Europe to crack down on terrorists in territory under Palestinian control since the latest string of suicide attacks began in Israel in early December.

Noting that Powell had not talked to Arafat in recent days, an aide to Arafat called the conversation with Powell "fruitful." The aide said Arafat affirmed his commitment to a cease-fire with Israel he called December 16. Israeli officials, however, have said they doubt Arafat is doing enough to crack down on terrorists.