US Secretary of State Colin Powell has described his meeting with the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah as "useful and constructive". The three-hour meeting that begun at 10:00am at Arafat's besieged headquarters, ended with no immediate indication of a possible truce after Israeli recent invasion of West Bank territories. Mr Arafat didn't leave his office at his besieged headquarters to speak to journalists.

At the same time, the IDF has claimed it will lift the ban on entering occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank. On principle, Ramallah, Bethlem and Nablus will be accessible but Yasser Arafat's office in Ramallah, Bethlem Nativity Church and Jenin will remain closed areas.