Clinton: Putting pressure on Palestinians

US Calls for Clampdown on Palestinian militants

But it also sent a message to Israel over the controversial Jewish settlement projects in Jerusalem that have enraged the Palestinians.

At the White House, President Clinton said the peace process could not move forward until Israel was satisfied the Palestinians were making one-hundred per cent effort.

"I could not say that there has been constant, 100 percent effort," Clinton said. "I know that sometimes the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat feels like he's caught in the middle between his own population... and his frustration in dealing with the Israeli government but none of that can be an excuse for not maintaining security."

Netanyahu: Staying tough

Netanyahu: the peace between Israel and Jordan is a model for the region

"You cannot have an environment in which people believe the way to get what they want is to kill innocent people in a market place," he stressed. "I believe the people who were responsible for those terrorist bombs are the enemies of the Palestinian Authority."

His Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, also urged the Palestinians to do more to prevent violence. But she also called on Israel to refrain from what she called unilateral acts that damaged Palestinian confidence.

Mrs Albright says she may go to the region in three weeks, if progress is made on security issues.

"I will consult closely with the leaders of the region and especially with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to improve the climate for negotiations and to discuss the procedural and substantive aspects of the permanent status issues," she said.

She said there must be an "unrelenting struggle" against extremism. "The Palestinian commitment to fight terror must be constant and absolute," she insisted. "This is essential to move the peace process forward."

Crown Prince and Israeli PM in crisis talks

In Israel earlier, the Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said the security clampdown imposed on the Palestinian areas after last week's bomb attacks would not be eased until the Palestinian Authority met its obligations, as he put it, by fighting terrorism.

Speaking after talks with Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan, Mr Netanyahu said: "We are firm in the measures we have taken. We expect to have the Palestinian Authority carry out its obligations if they expect us to carry out our obligations - and that remains our position."

Palestinians have condemned Israel's sealing of the West Bank and Gaza Strip as collective punishment. Israel has exempted food and medical supplies from the blockade.

Crown Prince Hassan, who is the brother of King Hussein, had been trying to persuade Mr Netanyahu to scale down the measures against the Palestinians.

Crown Prince Hassan: "We are dealing with a human peace"

"I would like to say that we are on the brink of revisiting violence and clearly we should do everything that we can in our commitment to security to avoid an eruption of violence of any kind, particularly of a terrorist nature," said the Crown Prince.

Mr Netanyahu visited the Mahane Yehuda market, where the attacks took place, a few hours before his meeting with the Crown Prince. He again acused the Palestinian Authority of not doing enough to prevent attacks against Israel.

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