Peres: Orient House closure 'temporary'

The Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres, has said that the closure of the unofficial Palestinian headquarters in east Jerusalem, Orient House, is not permanent but temporary.

Mr Peres told an Arabic television station, MBC, that the takeover of Orient House - in the wake of a suicide bombing that killed 15 Israelis - was a warning to the Palestinians to stop killing, not an act of revenge.

His words contrast with reports that the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, had said Israel would hold the symbolic building for good.

Palestinians staged a one-day strike on Monday in protest at the takeover. Mr Peres is to meet Palestinian officials to discuss how to revive the two sides' failed ceasefire.

In another move, the United States special envoy, David Satterfield, has arrived in the West Bank to see the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service