CAIRO, Aug 6: The Arab League accused Israel on Tuesday of provoking violence by failing to abide by previous peace agreements and urged it to lift sanctions on Palestinians.

The unusually harsh communique came as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak compared Israel's crackdown on the Palestinians to a suicide bombing.``Since we condemn terrorism that kills innocent people, we should at the same time say `no' to imposing a siege on the Palestinian people,'' Mubarak said after talks with Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy, who visited Cairo on Tuesday.

Israel's crackdown in the West Bank and Gaza Strip followed the twin suicide bombings in a Jerusalem market last week that killed 15 people, including the two attackers. A leaflet signed by the militant Islamic group Hamas claimed responsibility, though top Hamas officials have questioned its authenticity.

Following the attack, Israel confined Palestinians to their hometowns, halted the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian authority and suspended peace talks. Israel has detained more than 150 Palestinians since the bombing.

The Arab League blamed Israel for the violence, saying it was the result of the suspension of the peace talks and Israel's failure to implement the (previously) signed agreements.

Arabs believe Netanyahu opposes carrying out the 1993 Oslo accords. Under that agreement, the final settlement, including a solution to the tinderbox issue of Jerusalem, was to come by May 1999 after an interim period in which Palestinian autonomy expanded. That phase has virtually stalled since Netanyahu took office.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.