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US wants crackdown on violence against Israelis

The US on Thursday renewed longstanding demands for a crackdown on anti-Israeli violence as three US envoys met Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei to press the point.

The State Department said Qorei's renunciation of attacks against Israeli civilians -- made on Wednesday in a speech to the Palestinian parliament -- was "noteworthy" but meant little without solid action against militant groups.

"Abu Ala's comments, I think, are noteworthy," deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said, using Qorei's nom-de-guerre.

"It's important to publicly renounce terrorism and say that terrorism, in addition to being wrong and horrific, undermines the aspirations of the Palestinian people.

"So that's certainly welcome," he told reporters. "But what's also necessary are taking concrete actions against terror and that's something that we've been calling for the Palestinian Authority to do. It remains a top priority."

Ereli spoke after the three US envoys -- Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley and National Security Council Middle East affairs head Elliot Abrams -- met with Qorei in the West Bank town of Jericho.

The trio later saw Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem.

Ereli said both sets of discussions centered around Sharon's proposal for a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, steps to bring the two sides back to the US-backed roadmap for peace and promoting Palestinian political, economic and educational reform.

He declined to offer further details.

In Jericho after meeting Burns, Hadley and Abrams, Qorei said he had sought US guarantees that Sharon's plan to evacuate most of Gaza Strip would not stymie attempts for a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict.

And, he warned the Americans that unilateral moves would be counterproductive.

Sharon has said he has no option but to implement unilateral measures in the absence of progress in the bilateral peace process with the Palestinians but has said he will only proceed with the Gaza withdrawal if he has the support of the US.

Washington has voiced interest in the proposal but has withheld its backing.
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