ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, March 25, 1997                TAG: 9703250103
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: BARRY SCHWEID ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. TELLS ARAFAT TO DISAVOW VIOLENCE CONTROL OF MILITANT HAMAS MAY BE BEYOND HIS GRASP

State Department officials said they were not certain the Palestinian leader authorized attacks on Israeli civilians.

The United States is urging Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority to flash a red light to terrorists, but says he may have lost control of Hamas, the group that claims responsibility for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

Backing away from statements last week that there was no evidence to support Israeli warnings of imminent Palestinian terrorism, State Department officials said Monday they were not certain Arafat authorized attacks on Israeli civilians.

Spokesman John Dinger said there was increasing concern that Arafat had ``loosened his grip'' on Hamas. And a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, ``We are not certain that Chairman Arafat gave the green light'' for a violent response to Israel's decision to build a new Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem - thereby implying he might have.

``Regardless of what may have been done in the past, whatever signals may have been thought to have been received, it's important now to set the record straight and make clear there is no room for terrorism in the Middle East,'' Dinger said.

And without criticizing Arafat, White House press secretary Mike McCurry said the United States expected all parties to ``expend 100 percent effort'' to thwart terrorism.

``We've encouraged Mr. Arafat, and we've encouraged everyone in the region, to do everything they can do to stem violence in the region,'' the spokesman said.

The militants struck after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced ground would be broken for new Jewish homes in east Jerusalem - a decision President Clinton criticized as ill-timed and as shaking the confidence Palestinians are entitled to have in Israel's willingness to negotiate the city's future.

``What we want now is for Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to make very, very clear that there is no place for terrorism in the Middle East or in the strategy there,'' Dinger said.

The State Department also is calling on Arafat to take unspecified actions, presumably meaning that the Palestinian Authority rearrest some guerrilla operatives.

Israeli Ambassador Eliahu Ben-Elissar called on Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to discuss Friday's bombing of a Tel Aviv cafe in which three women were killed and dozens of people injured and concerns conveyed by Israel before the attack that Palestinian terrorists thought would be acceptable to Arafat.

They also covered in a 45-minute conversation ``the best ways to put the peace process back on track,'' said Gadi Baltiansky, the Israeli Embassy spokesman. He described the atmosphere as ``very friendly'' but declined to provide further details.

Albright is considering sending Dennis Ross, the senior U.S. mediator, to the Middle East to try to restore calm and put Israel and the Arabs on a negotiating track again, U.S. officials said.

Last week, the State Department said there was no evidence to support Israel's contention that attacks were being planned. Spokesman Nicholas Burns credited Arafat with opposing force to settle disputes.

At the time, department officials advised the Israeli government to take up its complaints privately with Arafat's Palestinian Authority and to hold talks on the future of Jerusalem and other sticky issues.

Palestinian officials have denied any complicity in Friday's attack and blamed Netanyahu for going ahead with the new neighborhood for 30,000 Jews.

Arafat intends to set up a Palestinian state and place its capital in Jerusalem. Netanyahu has vowed that Jerusalem will remain the undivided Jewish capital forever. 

LENGTH: Medium:   83 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  ASSOCIATED PRESS. A Palestinian police officer grabs a 

          Palestinian man during a clash in Hebron on Monday in which dozens 

          of Palestinians threw stones at Israeli troops. The soldiers 

          retaliated with tear gas and rubber bullets. They were enforcing a 

          blanket closure of the West Bank and Gaza strip, barring 

          Palestinians from entering Israel. On Friday, militants bombed a Tel

          Aviv cafe, killing three women and injuring dozens of people. 

          color.
by CNB