Crawford, Tex. ? Pressed personally by President Bush to promptly withdraw from Palestinian territories, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon offered Saturday to expedite his military offensive but set no deadline.

The Israeli government did not say when a withdrawal might begin, or how rapidly it would proceed. The statement said that Israel is operating in difficult conditions in areas where “there are a great deal of weapons, explosives and armed terrorists.”

The Bush administration offered few other details, either, after a 20-minute telephone call between the two leaders. And in the occupied territories, where fighting raged through the weekend, there were no imminent signs of an Israeli pullback.

After a news conference with visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush called Sharon on Saturday “as a friend to express deep concern about events in the region,” said a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“He told the prime minister that he meant what he said, that Israel needs to withdraw without delay,” the official said. “He told the prime minister that Israel needs to make progress now, and that Israel needs to diffuse the situation so diplomacy can work.”

Powell on the way

Secretary of State Colin Powell leaves today for Europe and the Middle East, on a presidential mission to step up U.S. peace efforts after days of criticism at home and abroad that the administration had been too hands-off.

By week’s end, Powell is expected to meet with Sharon and perhaps, with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, whom the Israelis have confined to his headquarters on the West Bank. In one potential problem, the Palestinians said Saturday they would not talk with Powell unless he meets with Arafat.

The Israeli military incursions into Palestinian areas on the West Bank and elsewhere began nine days ago after a daily series of suicide bombings.

His earlier demands ignored, Bush publicly urged Israel Saturday to withdraw “without delay.”

“I don’t expect them to ignore,” Bush said in response to a question on what would happen if Israel failed to meet his demand.

“I expect them to heed the call  heed the call from their friends, the United States and heed the call from their friends the people of Great Britain and the leadership of Great Britain,” Bush said, with Blair at his side.

The president also again chastised Arafat for refusing to publicly denounce the suicide bombings and other acts of violence.

“He said he would fight off terror. He hasn’t,” Bush said. “At the very minimum, he ought to at least say something.”

Bush and Blair conferred during a long-planned weekend summit on the international war against terrorism that has been overshadowed by spiraling violence in the Middle East.

Saddam problem

Nonetheless, the two leaders said they had spent considerable time discussing how to best deal with what they agreed were serious threats posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s determination to develop biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

Blair said he agreed with Bush that the Iraqi regime must go but had not yet settled on a plan.

“That threat is real,” Blair said. “How we deal with it, that’s a matter we discuss.’

Also, Blair said he supported the president’s call for an Israeli withdrawal.

“I believe that Israel will heed the words of President Bush, and will do so knowing that he speaks as a friend of Israel,” Blair said.

Bush and Blair met reporters in the Crawford High School gymnasium, about seven miles from the president’s Prairie Chapel Ranch. Outside, a heavy rain pelted the roof and it thundered as Bush praised Blair for speaking out with “moral clarity” against Iraq.

Reiterating his fear that terrorists could tap into Iraq’s developing arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, Bush said, “I can’t imagine people not seeing the threat and not holding Saddam Hussein accountable.”

“Maybe, I should be a little less direct and be a little more nuanced and say we support regime change,” Bush said, reminding a reporter that was the same policy adopted by his predecessor, Bill Clinton.

“And your father?” the reporter asked, referring to the 41st president  who did not pursue Hussein in Baghdad at the end of the Persian Gulf War nearly a dozen years ago.

“You know, I can’t remember that far back,” Bush replied, drawing a few chuckles. “It’s certainly the policy of my administration.”

Later, after Bush and Blair had returned to the ranch, about 1,000 demonstrators gathered at the Crawford High School football stadium to protest the president’s policies toward Iraq and the Middle East.

The president should stop “sitting on the side” and be even more aggressive in his efforts for peace in the Middle East, said Maaz Eid, a computer engineer from Dallas, who had driven to Crawford with his wife and four children.