[RamsNo1]

Just what I said previously---Powell will probably come out of the Sunday meeting still criticizing Sharon and getting nothing from Arafat. In other words, same old, same old dismal failure. This has been a totally catastrophic couple of months for Bush's domestic and foreign policy. Oh, what the heck, send the Abu Sayyaf a couple more thousand dollars for good measure.

[GeronL]

Richard Cook, West Bank field director for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, said dead bodies were piling up.

Following his meeting with five officials of U.N. and Red Cross aid groups, Powell announced the United States will contribute an additional $30 million for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency on top of the $80 million already contributed annually.

Through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the administration is providing $62 million in assistance for health care, water system repairs and emergency food aid, Powell said.

"We call upon the international community to do all it can to help at this time of exceptional Palestinian need," he said.