Jericho (West Bank) June 13: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas is committed to convincing militant Palestinian factions to accept a ceasefire agreement with Israeli forces, he told US Secretary of State Colin Powell by telephone. "Mr. Abbas promised he would try to restore the calm and succeed in having the different Palestinian factions accept the ceasefire in order to promote the application of the 'roadmap'," information minister Nabil Amr said yesterday. In the conversation with Powell, Abbas said he had already asked Palestinian groups to "stop the violence", which has escalated sharply after two peace talks earlier this month. In a sign of a radical shift in Palestinian political rhetoric, Palestinian authority head Yasser Arafat and Abbas for the first time Wednesday described Palestinian attacks as "terrorist operations".

In a statement, Abbas condemned as a "terrorist" attack suicide bombing claimed by Islamic movement Hamas which killed 16 people and the bomber in central Jerusalem. He also condemned a rapid succession of Israeli strikes that have left scores dead. Bureau Report