Washington ? President Bush has cautioned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon against harming Yasser Arafat, a White House official said Friday after the Israeli leader said he was no longer bound by a promise to spare Arafat from attack.

Sharon said he raised the issue with Bush when they met at the White House on April 14.

The prime minister’s comments Friday were the strongest sign yet that Israel could target the Palestinian leader, and they threatened to add to growing Arab anger at the United States. Palestinian officials condemned what they called Sharon’s “dangerous statements.”

The White House hours later said that Bush in last week’s meeting had “reiterated his opposition to such an action” against the Palestinian leader.

“We have made it entirely clear to the Israeli government,” said National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack. “The president was pretty clear.”

Although Sharon said he had a free hand, the White House did not see it that way.

The administration considers Sharon’s earlier pledge to be binding, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. That official said Sharon did not tell Bush what, if anything, Israel planned to do against Arafat.

Bush and Sharon did not mention the subject when they briefed the press on their talks last week. Instead, Bush endorsed Sharon’s plan to hold on to part of the West Bank in any final peace settlement with the Palestinians. The president also ruled out Palestinian refugees returning to Israel.

Bush’s words at that time brought strong criticism from the Palestinians.

Sharon talked about his conversation with Bush in an interview with Israel TV’s Channel Two, broadcast Friday. Early this month Sharon made similar comments in an interview with Israeli Army Radio. His message then said the Palestinian leader and the head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah were potential targets for assassination.

“I told the president the following,” Sharon said. “In our first meeting about three years ago, I accepted your request not to harm Arafat physically. I told him I understand the problems surrounding the situation, but I am released from that pledge.”

A Palestinian youth prays as Israeli mounted police officers ride by, outside Damascus gate, during Friday Muslim prayers in Jerusalem's Old City. The entrance to the al-Aqsa mosque compound for prayers was limited to worshippers over the age of 45 years who have Israeli identity cards for the fourth time this month, as forces feared riots at the end of prayers.