Bush wants end to violence before he moves

Sources in the White House said President Bush supports an initiative tabled by President Hosni Mubarak on easing tension in the Middle East on Monday.

Mubarak has proposed hosting a summit meeting between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

According to the CNN, the sources, in the meantime, ruled out possible holding of such a meeting as Sharon slammed the idea and insisted he would not meet Arafat at the present.

"Though Bush backs Mubarak's initiative and the Saudi one tabled by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, based on the land-for-peace formula, it is expected that he will voice conviction that if Egypt and Arab countries want to extend a helping hand in the peace process, the first thing they should do, according to the US administration's point of view, is to press Arafat to end the Palestinian violence against the Israelis," the sources said.

When this happens, Bush can announce readiness to lay pressures on Sharon to backtrack and cease fire in preparation to resuming negotiations, the sources added.