The White House today called again for the parties in the Middle East to end the violence, saying continuing down this path will only lead to disaster.
White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan acknowledged that President Bush had received a letter from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat but declined to divulge details of its contents or whether Mr Bush planned a reply.
The letter reportedly included an appeal from Mr Arafat to Mr Bush and European leaders to intervene in the crisis.
All parties in the Middle East need to take steps immediately to end the violence and restore calm, Mr McClellan said.
He said this must occur before the Israelis and Palestinians can begin implementing the peace blueprint brokered by former US Senator George Mitchell.
"But first both sides need to really recognize that continuing down this path will only lead to disaster. So they need to take immediate steps to end the violence and restore calm," Mr McClellan told reporters.