GAZA CITY, July 24: A senior aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday appealed to US President George W. Bush to act immediately to halt Israel’s construction of a security fence around the West Bank.

Abu Rudeina was speaking after a joint meeting of the PLO executive committee, the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) committee and High Committee for National and Islamic Forces in Ramallah.

The ceasefire has come under threat due to a dispute over the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released.—AFP