Powell's mission ends without ceasefire deal

Israel has promised to withdraw its troops from Palestinian towns and villages, the US secretary state, Colin Powell, said today as he gave a blunt message to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, that "terrorism must end".
Winding down a 10-day peace mission that has had limited results, Mr Powell said he would return to the region "to move ahead" with efforts to get negotiations on track.

Other US diplomats will remain behind to follow up on his talks and the US president, George Bush, is prepared to send the CIA director, George Tenet, to promote security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians, he added.

But he has been unable to get both sides to agree a ceasefire, which he said is impossible to achieve while the Israeli army remains in the West Bank. The Palestinians argue that its occupation means they are unable to crack down on militants using their own security forces.

Israeli troops today swept through Issawiyah, a Palestinian district of Jerusalem, and two villages in the West Bank, taking residents from their homes and making arrests.