RAMALLAH, Dec 16: Palestinian President Yasser Arafat called in an address to his people on Sunday for a halt to all armed activities, including suicide bombings, against Israelis and said Israel must stop its own “brutal war”.

“I today reiterate (a call for) the complete and immediate cessation of all military activities. I renew the call to completely halt any activities, especially suicide attacks which we have condemned and always condemned,” Arafat said.

Speaking on Palestinian television, he accused Israel of “launching a brutal war” against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its institutions, and urged Israel to return to peace talks as the sole means to resolve the conflict.

Under international pressure to rein in guerillas behind a recent wave of suicide bombings against Israelis, Arafat said the PA had already declared illegal “groups that carry out terrorist activities”.—Reuters