Agadir, Morocco ? Secretary of State Colin Powell, after meeting Monday with Morocco’s moderate King Mohammed VI, demanded “a clear statement from Israel that they are beginning to withdraw” from Palestinian territories and “to do it now.”

Powell said he had asked the king to counsel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to halt violence against Israelis. The secretary said he hopes to see Arafat later in the week.

Israel’s military presence on the West Bank is having “a significant and severe” impact, Powell declared. “We have a very difficult situation in front of us. … We want to see this operation brought to an end as soon as possible.”

Mohammed, the first leader to meet with Powell as the secretary began a trip aimed at halting the violence between Israelis and Palestinians, assured Powell that Morocco will be ready to act on a land-for-peace proposal “without any prior conditions” as soon as Israeli troops withdraw from the West Bank.

In Knoxville, Tenn., Bush said Mideast peace will require leadership by both sides.

“The United States is firmly committed to achieving peace,” he said. “I meant what I said about withdrawal without delay, and I mean what I say when I call upon the Arab world to strongly condemn against terrorist activities.”

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush conferred Monday with Powell. Special envoy Anthony Zinni met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, U.S. officials said, and restated demands for an immediate withdrawal from the Palestinian territories.

Mohammed, long viewed as a moderating force in Israeli-Palestinian relations, urged Powell to spare no effort in seeking withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank and suggested he should be focusing on putting more pressure on Israel.

“Don’t you think it was more important to go to Jerusalem first?” the king asked Powell during a photo session.

Powell told Mohammed “we considered all options” but he wanted to go to Spain Wednesday to meet with European ministers before going to Jerusalem to hold talks with both Israelis and Palestinians.

After their meeting, Powell told reporters: “We are hoping, as the Israelis said in statements yesterday, that we will begin to see withdrawals from Palestinian cities.”

He acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defense, adding, “But Israel also has to take into account the implication of its actions.”

Jordan’s King Abdullah, in an interview to be aired on CBS Monday night, said Powell must meet with Arafat. If he doesn’t, “It will show the Palestinian people and the Arab people that there is an unbalanced approach to dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian issue,” Abdullah said.

Mohammed reminded Powell, who is seeking to swing moderate leaders behind U.S. peacemaking efforts, that Morocco is a member of a committee in charge of activating the peace initiative adopted recently by the Arab League, the royal palace said in a statement.

The palace statement, issued as Powell began a meeting with the king, said Mohammed reiterated Morocco’s “total condemnation of the deliberate Israeli military invasion” of Palestinian territories and “adamantly denounced the siege imposed on President Arafat and his collaborators.”

The Moroccan king, speaking stiffly in English during a photo session, told Powell, who is seeking Arab help to end the worst Israeli-Palestinian fighting in decades, “I wish you luck, because it is going to be difficult.”

Powell nodded his head slightly and acknowledged, “It is going to be difficult.”

Powell also was meeting in Morocco with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

The king, who maintains one of his many palaces in this southern coastal city, wrote Sharon on March 31, urging him to withdraw his troops from the West Bank. As many as 1 million Moroccans demonstrated against Israel over the weekend in Rabat, the capital.

“We need more responsible statements coming out of Arab capitals,” Powell said Sunday before embarking on his mission. “We need Arab leaders to act responsibly in this time of crisis.”

Arab leaders say Powell needs to talk to someone who isn’t on the itinerary yet: Palestinian leader Arafat.

Powell is on a trip to the Middle East and Europe that will include a meeting with Sharon in Jerusalem. Before his statement Monday that he hoped to meet this week with Arafat, Powell had said there would be such a meeting only “if circumstances permit” depending on security, access and the agenda.

Israel has confined Arafat to his compound in Ramallah as part of a West Bank offensive aimed at rooting out militants responsible for suicide attacks.

Sharon said in a speech Monday to Israel’s parliament that while his military campaign was limited in time, it would not end until the Palestinian militias have been crushed. He also said he would be willing to meet with Arab leaders to discuss a Mideast peace agreement.

Powell said he is seeking a cease-fire as a first step toward a lasting peace.

“Until the violence goes down hopefully to zero, but at least to a level where you can see that both sides are acting in a responsible way and trying to cooperate in a cease-fire, you’re not going to get to a peace agreement,” he said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Arab officials said Powell has little chance of succeeding if he doesn’t meet with Arafat.

“I don’t think he’ll find any other interlocutor among the Palestinians and the mission will fail,” Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the League of Arab Nations, told ABC’s “This Week.”

Crown Prince Abdullah’s proposal for a permanent resolution of the Israeli-Arab conflict has been lauded by the Bush administration and was endorsed by the Arab League on March 28. But the West Bank offensive, following Palestinian suicide bombings that killed more than 40 Israelis, has fueled Arab rage.