JERUSALEM'Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Yasser Arafat in his battered Ramallah headquarters Sunday and later held new talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon but made little headway toward a cease-fire or withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank, officials said.
Powell, who arrived in a convoy of armored vehicles for three hours of discussions with Arafat, was given renewed assurances that the Palestinian leader would try to control militant groups that have sent suicide bombers into Israel. But Palestinians said later that Arafat could act only after Israel ends the siege of Palestinian towns and villages.
Sharon revived a suggestion for a Middle East peace conference, but without Arafat. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the proposal was an attempt to \turn the clock backward.""
Powell announced plans to visit Lebanon and Syria today for talks on the continuing conflict between Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon and Israeli forces along Israel's northern border. Powell plans meetings with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and Syrian President Bashar Assad before returning to Jerusalem.
Separately Sunday, in a decision addressing one of the most controversial episodes of the Israeli invasion, Israel's High Court ruled that the military could begin removing bodies of Palestinians killed in the nine-day assault on the Jenin refugee camp. The court said the dead would have to be turned over to the Palestinians, and that representatives of the International Committee for the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Society would be allowed to witness the process. Initially, the Israeli army had announced it alone would take the bodies to a remote grave site.
The petition to the High Court was filed by Israeli Arab lawmakers and human rights groups who said Israel was attempting to hide the number of dead. The death toll has been impossible to confirm as Israel has barred international aid groups and journalists from the devastated camp but some reporters have been able to get inside in recent days. Palestinians have claimed that hundreds were killed, including civilians. The Israeli army rejected those claims Sunday, saying it has found 39 bodies after searching about half the camp. Israel lost 23 soldiers in the battle for the Jenin refugee camp.
Powell, who went to see Arafat over Sharon's objection that it would be a ""tragic mistake,"" said later that the meeting was ""useful and constructive."" He added, ""We exchanged a variety of ideas and discussed steps on how we can move forward.\
