TEL AVIV, April 8: A US envoy met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday to deliver what the White House said was an uncompromising message from President George Bush to end the Israeli offensive in Palestinian areas.

Bush sent former Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni to see Sharon after the Israeli leader defied previous calls by the president to begin withdrawing armour and troops from West Bank cities, villages and refugee camps.

In an address to the Israeli parliament, Sharon said the military would create buffer zones between Israel and the West Bank when the offensive eventually ended.

He also said he was ready to meet “moderate and responsible” Arab leaders for talks on peace. Arab analysts said the offer was unlikely to win any takers while the offensive continued.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said earlier in Washington that Zinni would “deliver the message that the president meant it — they need to begin to withdraw now”.

In comments to reporters in Knoxville, Tennessee, Bush said: “I meant what I said to the prime minister of Israel. I expect there to be a withdrawal without delay.”

Before meeting Zinni, Sharon told parliament the 10-day-old sweep in Palestinian areas would continue “with as much speed as possible” until it achieved its goal.

But Israeli commentators forecast Israel would soon bow to US pressure and conduct at least a partial pullout before the arrival later in the week of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who began a Middle East mission in Morocco on Monday.

Powell received a chilly reception from Morocco’s King Mohammed, who asked him why he had not begun his Middle East tour in Israel.

Powell said he “had considered all options” and wanted a chance to consult “European Union and Arab colleagues beforehand” to coordinate his mission.

Fighting raged in the Palestinian-ruled cities of Jenin and Nablus, and Israeli troops fired shots at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where 200 Palestinians were holed up.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein hit back at the Israeli incursion into the West Bank by announcing an immediate month-long suspension of all Iraqi oil exports, sending oil prices soaring.

COLLISION COURSE: Sharon’s comments to the Knesset (parliament), put him on collision course with Washington, which provides three billion dollars in annual aid to Israel.

Sharon said in an hour-long speech at a stormy session of the legislature that he had promised Bush to try to end the campaign as soon as possible and floated a proposal for peace talks with “moderate” Arab leaders.

But Sharon gave no indication a pullout was imminent, saying Israeli forces must finish dismantling a “terror infrastructure” he said was directed by Arafat and was responsible for a wave of suicide attacks on Israelis.—Reuters