Israel deflected a second call by US President Bush to end its West Bank offensive "without delay," instead pushing farther into Palestinian areas on Sunday as part of a continued military campaign against Palestinian militants.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, calling the conflict "a war for our homes," promised to expedite Israel's offensive, but he gave no time frame, and it was unclear whether the fighting would end by the time Secretary of State Colin Powell arrives this week.

Chances that the offensive would rest in time for Powell's visit were weakened when the Israeli army said Sunday its aim to crush the Palestinian "terror" network could not be achieved that quickly.

"If the time [for the operation] ends at the end of this week, we won't be able to finish the job, period," Israeli army Maj. Gen. Dan Harel said of the 10-day-old West Bank offensive, which began after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 27 people at a hotel Passover meal. "It takes time."

"Now, everybody wants us to get out of the territories," Harel said. "If we do [it] too soon, then another series of terror attacks will hit Israel's cities and streets, and then we'll go in [again]."

Friction Within Israel

With international pressure mounting, there were hints of friction between the Israeli government and its military command. Officers sought more time for the West Bank military operation, but Cabinet ministers talked of bringing it to an end.

Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the military should operate as long as possible to "clean out terrorism" in the West Bank, but acknowledged that in light of Bush's demand, "our hourglass is running out."

However, the army's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz told the Cabinet he needed eight weeks to complete the job, according to Israel Radio.

"The critical element is time," he said later in a briefing to reporters. "We need time to get to all the centers of terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza."

At the beginning of the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Sharon defended the offensive, calling it "a war for our homes."

"We have no interest in dragging it out, but we have to do the job," Sharon told Israel TV.

UN Emergency Session

The UN Security Council went into emergency consultations on Sunday, at the request of Tunisia, to discuss Israeli incursions into the Palestinian towns of Jenin and Nablus, a UN spokesman said.

The council has been meeting on the Middle East crisis virtually every day for the past 10 days. Three resolutions have been adopted in the last month, prompting Arab nations to try for a fourth, diplomats said.

In Washington on Saturday, Bush demanded the pullback "without delay," but Sharon stopped short of promising an immediate end to an operation in which scores of Palestinians and more than a dozen Israeli troops have been killed.

Amid mounting European and Arab calls for Israel to end the assaults and withdraw, Bush - who had put much of the onus on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to stop the violence - has toughened his message to Sharon.

On the Sunday-morning talk show circuit, Powell, who spoke with Sharon earlier in the day, said Israel understood Bush's call for withdrawal, though the Israeli prime minister gave no timetable for action.

"The president doesn't give orders to a sovereign prime minister of another country," Powell said on Sunday. "But as one of Israel's best friends and most supportive friends, I think Prime Minister Sharon has taken very much to heart and he understands clearly the message the president gave to him."

Powell was cautiously optimistic about his chances to stem the violence during his trip.

Powell Diplomacy

"I'm not going to come back at the end of this trip with a peace treaty in hand. I'm not even sure I'll have a cease-fire in hand. But that will be my goal, to try to help both sides out of this tragic situation in which they find themselves," Powell said.

Powell warned on Sunday that Israel could destroy advances it has made in relations with Arab states with the continuing offensive. During his trip, Powell will call on Arab states to take a bigger role in pressuring Arafat to fight terrorism and to stop their own inflammatory rhetoric.

"We need more responsible statements coming out of Arab capitals," he said. "We need all Arab leaders to act responsibly in this time of crisis."

At Powell's first stop, Morocco, he planned meetings Monday with King Mohammed VI and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. He then heads to Egypt to see President Hosni Mubarak, and to Spain for talks with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and European leaders.

'I Will Try to See Arafat'

However, Powell could not say conclusively if he would meet with Arafat, though he appeared to be open to a meeting with him.

"I will try to see Arafat, if circumstances permit, as well as seeing other Palestinian leaders," Powell said. "We have to see both sides or we will never get to any peace plan."

On Saturday, Saeb Erekat, a top Palestinian negotiator, said Palestinian officials would not meet Powell during his visit if he refused to meet Arafat.

At the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, the Israeli government praised the army's offensive. "The prime minister pointed out that a difficult campaign is under way, and that much has been achieved," said a statement issued by Sharon's office.

The statement made no mention of withdrawing the troops, saying only: "Israel is maintaining a policy of preventing injury to civilians, something which makes the operation more difficult and drawn out."

End to Jenin Battle?

Meanwhile, an Israeli army official said Sunday that the fighting would be over soon in Jenin, where soldiers have met fierce resistance from Palestinians in recent days, but Israel pressed ahead with its offensive elsewhere in the West Bank.

"In Jenin, we are at the verge of ending the fighting in the refugee camp," Brig. Gen. Ron Kitrey said. "The resistance there was very tough, perhaps tougher than estimated."

Kitrey made clear, however, that troops will not pull out of the refugee camp in Jenin once fighting ends.

"We will try to search for the wanted militants, their homes, their bases, the armories and explosives stores," Kitrey said. "The operation will take time, as long as needed."

Abdel Salaam, a leader of the militant group Hamas, said residents have been confined to lower levels of their homes because tank and missile fire has made the upper floors too unsafe. Food and supplies were running low, he said.

"Nobody can move out of his house to see what has happened to his neighbor," said Abdel Salaam, reached on his mobile phone. "We are talking to each other through windows only when the shelling stops, and we hear some stories from each other through this kind of connection - each one tells his neighbor."

In Nablus, the largest city in the West Bank, an Israeli field commander said his troops had killed more than 30-armed Palestinians in fierce fighting with militants, and armed Palestinians in the market area of the city refused to give themselves up to Israeli troops. Palestinians said the battles left four Palestinians dead.

"We have found explosives laboratories, including one which was very advanced and well equipped, with a production line from the raw materials to the finished product," said Israeli Col. Aviv Kochavi, head of the paratroops brigade.

Fire from Lebanon

Attacks from Hizballah guerrillas along Israel's border with Lebanon injured six Israeli soldiers Sunday. Civilians in nearby towns were ordered into bomb shelters for an hour on Sunday.

The fighting has raised fears of a new front opening up in the Mideast conflict, as Israel presses its military offensive in Palestinian cities.

Sharon said the clashes "could perhaps lead to a very big outbreak" as Israel responded with tanks, artillery and air strikes. Lebanese witnesses said Hizballah guerrillas fired a shoulder-launched missile at an Israeli jet.

"The Lebanese claim we are attacking but it's Hizballah who are trying to heat things up, draw us in. We have tried our best to sit back but this can't last much longer," an Israeli military spokesman said.

International Pressure

Amid the violence, the international community kept pressure on both sides to agree to end the latest bloodshed:

Pope John Paul urged Palestinians and Israelis on Sunday to free themselves from the "thirst for vendetta" and return to the negotiating table. The Pope led Roman Catholics around the world in prayers for peace in the Middle East as details emerged of a proposal by Vatican diplomats in the Holy Land to end a standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

The Spanish foreign minister said on Sunday the European Union would discuss introducing possible sanctions against Israel if it went on rejecting calls for a cease-fire. Josep Pique also said the EU would weigh sanctions against the Palestinian Authority "if it makes less than 100 percent effort to fight terrorism" against Israel.

(China Daily April 8, 2002)