A meeting between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been postponed at the request of the United States, the Palestinian information minister told The Associated Press late Friday.
The meeting originally was to take place Saturday. Abed Rabbo said U.S. officials informed the Palestinians the meeting was being postponed, possibly to Sunday.
Earlier, it was reported that the U.S. Secretary of State was reviewing whether to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Saturday, a U.S. official said.
Just hours after a Palestinian suicide bomber struck near a Jerusalem marketplace Friday, the White House called on Arafat to publicly denounce the “terrorist act” and the State Department said Powell would decide later whether to see Arafat as planned.
"He's looking at the whole situation in terms of the bombing and where we stand and where we are," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, asked whether Powell was considering canceling, said President Bush had given the secretary flexibility necessary to his mission. "Today would be a very good day for Yasser Arafat to publicly denounce terrorism and show some statesmanship," Fleischer said.
According to AP, Powell heard about the bombing as he prepared to board a helicopter to tour Israel's fragile northern border area. Israeli Defense Minister Benyamin Ben-Eliezer provided Powell more details and the helicopter passed over the site of the attack.
Powell condemned the Jerusalem bombing, saying it illustrates the dangerous situation and the need for Israel and the Palestinians to find a solution to stop the spiraling violence.
A senior Palestinian negotiator said the bombing appeared to be a revenge attack for Israel's West Bank offensive.
"I believe that this operation is in response to what happened in Jenin refugee camp," said Mohammed Dahlan, Palestinian Preventive Security chief in the Gaza Strip.
He said he did not believe it was linked to Powell's peace mission.
Bombing
At least six Israelis were killed and at least 62 injured Friday afternoon, when a Palestinian suicide bomber exploded next to a crowded bus stop in downtown Jerusalem.
Seven of the injured were in serious condition.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, the military wing of the Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack in an announcement made on the Hizbullah television station Al-Manar. Israel Radio identified the bomber as Nidal Daraghmeh, a woman from the Jenin refugee camp.
The attack was carried out by a woman who attempted to enter the nearby Mahane Yehuda market, but was deterred by the large number of Israeli police and soldiers on duty, Haaretz reported. She apparently blew herself up at a pedestrian crossing.
Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy called the attack "very serious." (Albawaba.com)
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