US peace envoy meets with Palestinian PM

New United States peace envoy John Wolf met Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas yesterday in a fresh bid to salvage a US-backed peace "roadmap" battered by a week of violence.

Egyptian mediators failed on Monday to persuade Palestinian militants to call a ceasefire with Israel. While US officials counselled restraint, Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, warned that he would not relax his pursuit of militants.

Sharon ruled out concessions to the Palestinians unless they cracked down on Hamas.