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--> --> Sharon seeks pressure on Palestinians NEW YORK (AP) - Visiting Ground Zero at the start of a five-day U.S. trip, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today he expects the United States to exert pressure on the Palestinians to stop terror attacks on Israelis. Sharon arrived in New York a day after an Islamic militant blew himself up on an Israeli bus, killing himself and three passengers. In all, seven Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks this week, along with seven Palestinians, among them four assailants. Sharon has said he holds Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat directly responsible for such attacks, arguing that the Palestinian Authority has done little to rein in militants. "I expect and hope that the United States ... will apply pressure on the Palestinians to stop all terror activity, violence and incitement," Sharon said Friday during a tour of the remains of the World Trade Center that was razed in a Sept. 11 terror attack by Islamic militants headed by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden . "I don't think we can reach the peace to which we aspire as long as Arafat runs a policy of violence and terror," Sharon said, standing on a raised stage next to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Asked about Sharon's frequent comparisons between Arafat and bin Laden, Giuliani said: "There is no doubt that Yasser Arafat has participated in some of the worst terror attacks of the past 20 or 30 years." The remarks of both men were punctuated by the sounds of the hauling of concrete, as wrecking cranes pecked away at what is left of the World Trade Center. Clouds of dust were rising from the site. Sharon inspected a wall with flags of countries who lost citizens in the attack. Sharon was to have signed his name next to the Israeli flag, but mistakenly wrote next to the German flag: "Shalom from Jerusalem, Ariel Sharon." After the mistake was pointed out, he added a simple signature next to the Israeli banner. Sharon told Giuliani that 5,000 trees would be planted in memory of the victims at a forest in the Jerusalem hills. Giuliani gave Sharon a framed color photograph of a fireman raising a U.S. flag at the scene of the attack. On Monday, Sharon was to meet at the White House with President Bush. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said today that Bush hopes his meeting with Sharon will help move Israelis and Palestinians back into political dialogue and "accelerate" the peace process. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing