Sharon rejects settlement freeze

Mr Sharon dismissed a key part of the report

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called on the Palestinians to renounce violence and return to the negotiating table following the release of the international Mitchell report.

But making his first official response to the inquiry in a televised address, Mr Sharon ruled out one of Mitchell's key recommendations - a freeze on the construction of new settlements.

Peace calls for painful compromises on both sides, but it is obtainable only at the negotiating table

Ariel Sharon

In his speech, Mr Sharon said that peace depended on both sides making difficult compromises, but added that while no new settlements would be built, existing communities must be allowed to grow.

The BBC's correspondent in Jerusalem says that Mr Sharon's words contained little new, and appeared aimed at a domestic Israeli audience.

Shortly afterwards, Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer announced a scaling back of Israel's rules of engagement, saying the army would not take offensive action against Palestinians but only respond to attacks.

A Defence Ministry Statement said that troops had been ordered to open fire only when there was a threat to life.

New rules will not preclude the shooting of Palestinian stone throwers

A BBC correspondent says that still gives the army considerable leeway, as many previous operations, including the use of F-16 fighter bombers against Palestinian areas, have been justified on self-defence grounds.

In Washington, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters that President Bush "welcomes the statement by Prime Minister Sharon," and said that the US "would welcome a similar statement" from the Palestinians.

Israel's 'time bomb'

Following Mr Sharon's address, Palestinian radio urged international intervention to end "the aggression, escalation and siege to which our people are being subjected".

Mitchell Report's proposals

Disengagement of forces on both sides

Resumption of security co-operation

Clear statements by the Palestinian Authority calling for an end to violence

Freeze on all settlement construction and enlargement

"Settlement is a time bomb, and as long as settlement exists on occupied Palestinian land, resistance and uprising will go on," said Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, a senior aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat dismissed Mr Sharon's speech as a public relations exercise.

He accused Mr Sharon of playing a game of deceit in dealing selectively with the report and called on Israel to accept its recommendations in full, withdraw its forces, and allow the deployment of international observers.

Mr Mitchell placed no blame on either side

Mr Sharon said that the settlement issue should be dealt with as part of a final peace agreement with the Palestinians, and not before all violence ends.

He said that Israel would not seek to acquire more land for settlements - but insisted settlements should be allowed to expand according to their needs.

The prime minister also warned Palestinians that they would achieve nothing by the use of violence - but said a "considerable" cooling off period was needed before any talks could begin.

US role

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Sharon met the US ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, to discuss the Mitchell report.

Mr Indyk is due to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to try to bridge the gap between the two sides, each of which refuses to make the first move.

As the diplomatic pace quickened, Israeli troops, backed by tanks, launched another incursion into Palestinian-controlled territory on Tuesday, apparently after mortar bombs were fired from the Palestinian side near Gaza City.

Palestinian sources said the troops had entered from five points, seizing land to set up a guard post.

Washington has given special responsibility for the Middle East to William Burns, currently US ambassador to Jordan.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, is also trying to broker a deal between the two sides, and is due to meet Mr Sharon on Wednesday.