U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Israel late Thursday, hours after Israeli forces entered two more West Bank towns -- and began withdrawing from two dozen villages in Palestinian territory. Powell traveled to Israel after making a brief stop in Jordan, where he met with King Abdullah. At a news conference following that meeting, Powell said he was anxious to "move aggressively to get a political track started" in the Middle East. Powell is scheduled to meet Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Saturday with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in an effort to negotiate a cease-fire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said Israeli tanks and military vehicles rolled into Bir Zeit, the West Bank's most prominent university town. Israeli forces also entered the West Bank town of Daharyeh near Hebron.

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