Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon said today he favours ending a siege on President Yasser Arafat which has confined the Palestinian leader to the West Bank city of Ramallah since mid-December.
Lifting the siege would enable Arafat to attend an Arab League summit in Beirut at the end of the month that is due to debate a Saudi proposal for an Arab-Israeli peace deal.
Mr Sharon said the siege would not be lifted immediately because of a suicide bombing in Jerusalem on Saturday that killed 11 Israelis. "But at the end of the day I believe the conditions will exist in which we can do this," he said in a speech.
Mr Sharon said Mr Arafat had fulfilled Israel's terms for lifting the siege by arresting the suspected killers of far-right cabinet minister Mr Rehavam Zeevi last October.
"I said once they were arrested I would let him leave," Mr Sharon said in the speech, broadcast on Israeli television.
"Once you achieve your demands you must carry out your commitments," he added.