Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had a secret telephone call with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat last Thursday, warning him that Israel will step up its responses "if Palestinian violence continues," reported Haaretz newspaper, quoting a senior government source.
Barak's office tried to keep the conversation secret, in order not to ruin the image of a "time-out" in contacts with the Palestinians, said the paper.
The source stresses the fact that the conversation did not deal with diplomatic issues, but only with stopping the violence, Haaretz reported.
According to the source, "Arafat responded that he will try," but he was having trouble controlling the street, as the violent demonstrations express the will of the people – Albawaba.com
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