U.S. envoy Zinni to meet with Israel's Sharon

Zinni met separately with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in March.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- U.S. Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni is scheduled to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Thursday.

The United States urges Israel to quickly finish its military incursions in the West Bank and return to the negotiating table to establish a cease-fire.

On another diplomatic front, a European Union delegation -- consisting of Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana -- will meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Israeli Defense Minister Binjamin Ben-Eliezer in separate meetings Thursday.

The EU has been asking for an immediate end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian cities in the West Bank, as well as the army's confinement of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who has been holed up in his Ramallah headquarters for several days.

Latest developments  • Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of betraying promises to work toward peace and said Israel's military mission in West Bank will continue until complete  • U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he would meet with Arafat on his Mideast trip "if circumstances permit."  • An Israeli army spokesman said Sunday he expected the Israeli operations in Nablus and Jenin to end "today or tomorrow."  • U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said President Bush wants Israel to begin its withdrawal "now."  •  Israel launched air attacks against suspected Hezbollah hideouts in southern Lebanon on Sunday after more attacks on Israeli positions near the Israeli-Lebanon border.  •  A 27th victim of the Passover suicide bombing in the Israeli coastal town of Netanya has died, Sharon said.  IN-DEPTH  CNN NewsPass Video    •  Palestinian politics  MORE STORIES   •  IDF: Arms workshops destroyed in Rafah  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  Gallery: Palestinian fatalities  RESOURCES   •  Victims of terror   •  TIME.com: Orchestrating a common ground

Israel has denied a U.S. request to allow Zinni to travel to Ramallah to meet with Arafat, a Bush administration official told CNN.

The White House official said U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer requested the meeting on Monday but that Israel said it was "too dangerous" for Zinni to travel there.

The official said the United States believes the rejection was an attempt by Israel to further isolate Arafat, who has been confined to his Ramallah compound by Israeli tanks and troops since last Friday.

The ongoing Israeli military operations in the West Bank began last week during a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings that began with a terrorist attack in Netanya at the start of Passover. Israeli officials have said the military action is intended to root out terrorism.

The operations continued Thursday as the Israeli military said it had completed its takeover of Nablus, the West Bank's largest city. Hundreds of Israeli tanks moved into Nablus late Wednesday and overnight. (Full story)

Israel's rejection of the U.S. request for Zinni's visit comes as Arab nations are stepping up their pressure on the United States to step up its efforts in the region.

Some of that pressure is coming from Egypt, a key U.S. ally in the region and one of only three Arab countries that has ties with Israel.

In two "angry" letters, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned U.S. President Bush the Israeli invasion of Palestinian territories is rapidly spinning out of control, senior Arab diplomats said Wednesday. (Full story)

Egypt also announced it was suspending all ties with Israel except for diplomatic contacts. Egypt's Middle East News Agency quoted the country's information minister as saying Egypt would limit its ties with Israel to those that "serve the Palestinian cause."

Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the Arab League on Wednesday denounced the operations as "carnage" and said Palestinian civilians were suffering. "The situation is very, very serious, and it is going from bad to worse," Amr Moussa told CNN.

Arab leaders are under increasing pressure at home over the escalating tensions in the region. Protests erupted in several Arab countries on Wednesday over Israel's actions in the West Bank and U.S. policy in support of Israel.

In Beirut, Lebanon, police used batons, water cannons and tear gas to control hundreds of people who rallied in front of the U.S. Embassy, demanding the United States take a "more balanced" role in the Mideast. Protests were also reported in Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan.

White House says no change in policy

Yet, despite the calls for a new approach in the Middle East, the Bush administration said Wednesday it still believes a political solution is "very hard to achieve" until a cease-fire takes hold.

"It's just logical, so long as there is violence, it's very hard for both parties to engage in meaningful political talks," said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.

Still, Fleischer said, the United States is "committed to progress" on both a cease-fire and a political solution, a message which seemed designed to appease Palestinians who have accused Washington of a pro-Israel bias.

Many Middle East observers believe the only way Palestinians might agree to a cease-fire is if there is a discussion of political issues.

"I think it goes without saying that it's going to be easier to make progress on the political front if the violence is reduced," Fleischer said. "And so it makes sense that both are important. But the focus has got to be, in the president's opinion, on reducing the violence, to make the political talks more fruitful."

A senior administration official told CNN that Bush never said a cease-fire was a prerequisite for a political solution, or that a political settlement could not be achieved without a complete end to the violence.

"He's never said it's impossible," the official said. "He said it's harder. It's common sense."