WASHINGTON, Nov 8: The United States appeared on Thursday to distance itself from the Middle East conflict, which it has been trying to dampen down since the Sept 11 attacks on Washington and New York.

Bush said bringing peace to the troubled region was not necessary to carry on the fight against Osama bin Laden.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll bring Al Qaeda to justice, peace or no peace in the Middle East,” Bush said during a joint appearance with visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

“There is no way whatever in which our action in Afghanistan is conditional on progress in the Middle East,” agreed the British leader, in Washington to discuss efforts to overcome mounting criticism of the US-led war.

Despite that, he said “it is in everybody’s interest that we make progress in the Middle East, and we will strain every sinew we possibly can to do so.”

Washington invigorated efforts to calm tensions here immediately after the attacks, fearing the 13-month conflict between close ally Israel and the Palestinians would erode Arab and Muslim support for a campaign against Afghanistan.

Israel welcomed Bush’s remarks.

“That was our position all along, and we welcome that statement. (Osama) bin Laden said all along that his real target was the United States,” said Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Arafat is due to make a speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday. Top Palestinian officials have denied reports that he plans to use the occasion to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state.

Israeli Defence Minister Ben Eliezer said there was a growing rift between Arafat and his ministers, the majority of whom had lost faith in their long-time leader.

“Most Palestinian officials, even at the highest level, do not agree with Arafat,” he said. “They know that he is leading his people toward catastrophe.”

However, several recent Palestinian opinion polls have shown widespread support for the intifada, which started on Sept 28 last year.

Israeli public radio said military officials were increasingly turning to local-level contacts to tackle the uprising, rather than high-level talks under Arafat’s direct supervision.

PERES: In Vaesterras, Sweden, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was to meet Ahmed Qorei, one of Arafat’s closest advisers, along with Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson.