NEW YORK, April 5: While many world leaders have welcomed US President George Bush’s re-engagement in the Middle East but most Arab and non-aligned nations’ diplomats here doubt that Israeli Prime Minister Sharon will heed his call to withdraw its forces from the occupied lands.

Bush urged Israel on Thursday to end its military assault on Palestinian areas and pull back, and ordered Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region to revive ceasefire talks.

But he also said Arafat’s situation was “largely of his own making” because he had failed to stop Palestinian suicide bombings.

Most Arab diplomats here were sceptical of any substantial success from the Powell mission saying, “Sharon never listened to the US demands of allowing Yasser Arafat to attend the Arab summit in Beirut, why should he listen to it now.”

Some also noted that the Israeli lobby in Washington “holds sway” over the US lawmakers and the executive hence it will be difficult for Powell to persuade Sharon to do anything, “he will not heed to Bush’s call.”

But there were some who believe that Sharon might yet heed and withdraw while the going is good because the situation could spiral out of his control.

In Europe the newspapers gave Bush marks for trying, Arab editorialists focused heavily on his invective against the Palestinian leadership and some even suggested Bush had given Israel a license to kill Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

French President Jacques Chirac, telephoned by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, referred to the “vital and long-awaited re-engagement of the United States” in the Middle East, a Chirac spokeswoman said.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said his government “emphatically welcomes” the US initiative.

“It is an important signal of hope for a de-escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians and a return to efforts to find a political resolution,” he said in a statement.

The European Union, humiliated by Israel in its own diplomatic bid for a ceasefire, also welcomed the re-engagement of the United States in high-level Middle East peacemaking.

European Commission President Romano Prodi, who earlier this week described US mediation efforts as a failure, applauded Bush’s statements.