Powell calls calls for end to sieges

Middle Eastern tensions today focused on two potential flashpoints in Bethlehem and Ramallah after Israel withdrew from West Bank cities it invaded three weeks ago but kept them under siege.

More than 200 Palestinians, including armed militants and policemen, are facing starvation inside the Basilica of the Nativity, the birthplace of Christ, in Bethlehem. And Washington called on Israel to ease its cordon around the Ramallah offices of Yasser Arafat.

The scenes inside the Basilica, where 200 gunmen and about 45 clerics and nuns are holed up, have become increasingly desperate since food ran out last Friday. Small groups of young men have managed to slip past snipers, fleeing because of hunger.

Efforts to negotiate an end to the stand-off have been as fruitless as attempts to ease Arafat's imprisonment in Ramallah. US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was encouraged by Israel withdrawal from Nablus, Jenin and Ramallah. But he was keen to see the siege of these towns lifted. He also asked Israel to ease Arafat's conditions in the compound.