Arafat talks to Colin Powell and Hosni Mubarak on phone
( 2001-06-04 10:04 ) (7 )

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat spoke by phone Sunday to US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for the second time in 24 hours, the official Palestinian agency WAFA reported.

Arafat's top councillor, Nabil Abu Rudeina, was quoted by WAFA as saying Powell and Arafat "agreed to continue contacts in the coming hours", as part of "US-Palestinian contacts engaged to discuss the current situation and means of dealing with it".

The agency said Arafat and Mubarak discussed "the deterioration of the situation following Israeli threats."

Israel gave the Palestinian leader "one or two days" to deliver on his promise to halt violence.

Arafat ordered a "total and immediate ceasefire" Saturday night, following the suicide attack which killed 19 Israelis in Tel Aviv a day earlier.

Shortly before he made the announcement, Arafat held phone conversations with Powell, Mubarak, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa.