Bush Urges Arafat to Take More Actions Against Violence

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 22, 2002

Bush Urges Arafat to Take More Actions Against Violence

U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to make more efforts to stop violence.

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U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to make more efforts to stop violence.

"Mr. Arafat must do more to stop the violence in the Middle East," Bush said in a speech in El Paso, Texas, where he made a brief stop before crossing the border into Mexico, the first leg of a four-day Latin American visit, which also take him to Peru and El Salvador.

Bush made the remarks hours after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed two Israelis and injured 60 others in downtown Jerusalem. Al Aqsa Brigades, a Palestinian militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack.

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Secretary of State Colin Powell called Arafat after the attack and demanded that he condemn the violence.

Reeker revealed that Powell began taking steps to designate the Al Aqsa group a foreign terrorist organization on Tuesday and notified Congress on Wednesday.

This move would block funds of the group and make it illegal for Americans to deal with it.

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