GAZA/WASHINGTON, 14 June — Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said yesterday that his Palestinian Authority would set within the next few days the date for new presidential and legislative elections as diplomatic activities gained momentum for the resolution of the Middle East crisis.

Arafat, in an address to his new Cabinet, said municipal elections would be held as soon as possible and legislative and presidential elections would be held in either December or January.

“In the next few days we will issue an official order to set the date for these elections,” he said at the start of the Cabinet session, held at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Arafat has pledged to consolidate at least nine Palestinian security services and to hold new elections by early 2003 as part of the reforms called for by Palestinian lawmakers, the United States and Israel.

His new Cabinet of 21 ministers is an interim government until new elections are held.

The five new ministers who joined the Cabinet were sworn in at the start of the meeting. Arafat also reiterated his commitment to peacemaking. He called for an end to the “cycle of violence and bloodshed...establishing a just, comprehensive and lasting peace”.

Arafat said the next step was to reconstruct ministries and government agencies to enforce accountability and transparency.

But in a sign of internal disagreement over separation of powers within the Palestinian Authority, Arafat rejected a call by lawmakers before the Cabinet meeting to present his 21 ministers to the legislative council for a vote of confidence.

The United States said yesterday that Arafat’s announcements about reform of his government and a pledge to hold elections soon were “positive” but stressed that the words needed to be turned into actions.

Prince Abdullah, the regent, yesterday received a telephone call from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during which they discussed the latest developments in the region in the light of the continuing Israeli aggressions against the Palestinians.

In Washington Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal met with US President George W. Bush yesterday as Bush prepared to advance proposals for ending Israeli-Palestinian violence and finding an elusive peace.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush and Prince Saud had a “warm meeting” of about 20 minutes in the Oval Office. “They exchanged a variety of ideas about how to move forward and the president enjoyed the visit,” Fleischer said.

Prince Saud told reporters, “I was very pleased with what I heard from the president.”

He said Bush seemed pleased with what he told the president. The prince indicated he would answer more questions today.

The two men only spoke in a “generalized fashion” about Bush’s plan for an independent Palestine, Fleischer said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to meet separately today with Prince Saud and with Nabil Shaath, a senior adviser to Palestinian leader Arafat.

In his White House meeting, Prince Saud reiterated several Arab leaders’ requests that Bush act quickly to create a Palestinian state and urge Israel to give up all the occupied territories.

Prince Saud also met US Vice President Dick Cheney.

The UN Security Council began a day-long public meeting yesterday on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but was not expected to adopt any statement or resolution.

Meanwhile, a large Israeli armored force rolled into the northern West Bank town of Tubas yesterday morning, imposed a curfew and began searching houses, Palestinian sources reported.

The incursion sparked clashes with armed Palestinians confronting the force, which witnesses said consisted of some 20 to 30 tanks and armored personnel carriers.

Four Palestinians were injured, hospital sources said.

Thirteen Palestinian security officers were arrested when the Israeli Army stormed the preventative security and intelligence services building in Tubas.

A local official of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, Jamal Daraghmeh, was also arrested in the same building, they said.

The Israeli Army for its part said it had arrested 15 Palestinians in Tubas but could not disclose their identity or affiliation.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s remarks about the creation of a “provisional” Palestinian state drew criticism from Palestinians.

Powell “should concentrate on the real thing: ending the Israeli occupation,” Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP. “We can’t accept interim solutions any more, we need to move to a final deal,” Erekat said.

In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher also distanced his country from comments attributed to Powell that indicated both countries endorsed the creation of a “provisional” Palestinian state.