Outgoing US Secretary of State Collin Powell arrived in Israel late Sunday as part of the international efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace process amid continued violence in the region.

Powell said he will press both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take steps that will facilitate the Jan. 9 Palestinian election for a successor to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

"This is a moment of opportunity ... The big step ahead of us now is to assist the Palestinian people getting ready for the election," he told reporters aboard his plane for his first trip to the region in 18 months.

"In my conversations with both sides, I'll be encouraging them to do everything they can to make sure this election comes off and that the maximum number of Palestinians get the opportunity to participate," he said.

Powell also said the two sides should work to create a Palestinian state as soon as possible, but he failed to set 2005 as the deadline which was demanded by Palestine.

Meanwhile, US Middle East envoy and Assistant Secretary of State William Burns said Israel should support Palestine's elections.

Burns made the remarks after meeting on Sunday with Palestinian interim President Rawhi Fattuh in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"In particular, I am here to stress strong American support for the Palestinian elections, for the president of the Palestinian Authority," Burns said, noting the United States will "do everything we can to help in that process and we also support steps by Israel which are needed to facilitate these elections."

Burns said that successful elections and a successful Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank were important steps toward fulfilling the roadmap, ending the Israeli occupation and completing the vision of "two states for two peoples."

Burns, who was making preparations for Powell's trip, also met Israel's national security adviser Giora Eiland earlier.

Powell's visit reflects increased international efforts for reviving the Middle East peace process. British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will also visit the region later this week, followed by their Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos early next month.

Meanwhile, UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen urged Israel on Sunday to pull back from the West Bank before the Palestinian elections.

Israel should pull back "troops from the cities of the West Bank in order to facilitate free and fair elections," he said after meeting Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei in Ramallah.

He said "a way has to be found" for the voting of those Palestinian residents in east Jerusalem, and the stabilization in the region requires the commitments from Palestine, Israel and the international community.

Fatah to choose presidential candidate

On the same day, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath announced the Fatah central committee will convene Sunday to choose a candidate for the presidential elections.

Shaath told the Voice of Palestine radio that the candidate must be approved by Fatah's revolutionary council and supported by other Fatah institutions.

Fatah, the mainstream of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), is likely to choose PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas as the candidate, Fatah officials said earlier.

Meanwhile, the Central Elections Commission started giving out application forms Saturday for the presidential elections and the nomination period would last 10 days.

Fadwa Barghouti, wife of Marwan Barghouti who was Fatah's secretary general in the West Bank and currently was detained in an Israeli prison, arrived in Ramallah and got an application form for her husband.

Fadwa Barghouti refused to comment on Marwan's intentions whether he would run. "We are preparing and waiting for any decision to be taken by Marwan," she said.

Israel kills three Palestinian militants near Ramallah

The Israeli army shot dead three Palestinian militants Sunday night in a raid in the town of Beitnoya near Ramallah, witnesses and medics said.

They said an undercover Israeli force stormed the town and opened fires at a Palestinian car with four militants inside.

Three were killed and the fourth was injured and arrested. The four are members of al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the mainstream Fatah movement.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2004)