WASHINGTON, June 8: US President George W. Bush hedged his bets on Middle East peace on Saturday, ruling out any calendar for establishing a Palestinian state despite a plea from his Egyptian counterpart hours after fresh violence left eight dead in the occupied territories.

Bush was speaking at the finish of a two-day summit at Camp David with Hosni Mubarak, who hoped to convince Bush to support the creation of a Palestinian state by next year.

Instead, he demanded the building of Palestinian institutions that could be the pillars of a state and declared that Arafat “must do everything in his power to stop the violence, to stop the attacks on Israel. I mean everything.”

Openly disagreeing with Bush, Mubarak told reporters that Arafat should be given “a chance” to carry out promised political and security reforms as well as quell anti-Israeli attacks.

“We are working very hard with cooperation with the United States for the reform in the Palestinian Authority. Such a chance will prove that (Arafat) is going to deliver or not,” said Mubarak, warning of more chaos without the declaration of a Palestinian state.

The summit was sure to be viewed with disappointment by Arabs who had hoped Bush was moving toward a more even-handed approach in the conflict, where Israel is often perceived to have received carte blanche by Washington.

Bush, whose administration has been characterized as unwilling to delve too deeply into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, played his cards close to his chest, despite indications the region could spin out of control any moment.

“We’re not ready to lay down a specific calendar except for the fact we need to get started quickly, soon, so that we can seize the moment,” Bush said at a joint press conference with Mubarak.

Bush’s comments meshed with the views of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is to meet the president on Monday, with the aim of persuading the White House to usher Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat off the political stage.

Sharon has long insisted on an interim agreement before the creation of a Palestinian state and has ruled out any negotiations until attacks on Israelis are halted.

The burly, hardline former general could point to Saturday’s bloodshed as further proof he should yield no quarter and press his demands for the complete overhaul of the Palestinian Authority.

Two Palestinian gunmen slipped into a settlement outpost, killing an Israeli man and his pregnant wife, before one was gunned down and the other escaped, the army alleged.

The attack on the Karmei Tzur outpost near the southern West Bank town of Al Khalil was only the latest in a series of successful Palestinian raids on settlements.

Another Israeli was killed and five others injured in the pre-dawn shooting rampage.

Four Palestinians were also killed in two abortive attacks on the Gaza Strip, sources on both sides said.

Tensions have been rising in the region since a suicide bombing on Wednesday that killed 17 Israelis.

The Israelis have followed up a massive West Bank offensive with recent hit-and-run raids on various towns, and Israeli troops continued Saturday to occupy the northern West Bank town of Jenin, a day after storming in and triggering clashes with Palestinian forces, residents said.

But events on the ground did not hasten action from Bush, who instead spoke about the need for further consultations.

“Part of the consultation process that we are having is to determine what’s feasible in terms of that political dialogue, what’s feasible in terms of the timetable that a lot of people are anxious to talk about,” he added.

Ignoring the counsel of Mubarak, Bush lashed out at the Palestinian leader.

“I am disappointed in his leadership. I think he has let the Palestinian people down,” he said.

Mubarak, whose country was the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel, was pitching a plan based on creation of a Palestinian state by early 2003 with temporary borders.

Sharon: The Israeli premier is to hold a fresh round of talks with Bush on Monday when he will likely renew his plea for the Americans to dump Arafat.

Until now, US officials have resisted Sharon’s drive to sideline the ageing leader in the past but appeared to be wavering.

Bush said Friday he would unveil his new gameplan for Middle East peace, after his round of talks with Mubarak and Sharon.

The United States has announced its backing for a ministerial-level conference on the Middle East that would include participation by the EU, UN and Russia, but has not yet defined the conference’s goals, date and venue.

Apparently heeding the rumblings from Washington, Palestinian cabinet secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman said a revamped Authority cabinet should be announced in the next 48 hours.—AFP