Israelis and Palestinians Accept U.S. Plan to End Siege and Free Arafat
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell first proposed the compromise during his visit here earlier this month for talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, a senior Bush administration official said. The compromise originated in an offer of British supervision of the prisoners that Prime Minister Tony Blair made to President Bush during a meeting in Crawford this month, White House officials said.

They said Saudi Arabia also played a role. Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia bluntly told Mr. Bush during a meeting at the ranch on Thursday that United States policy in the Middle East was biased toward Israel.

Mr. Bush called Mr. Sharon on Saturday to press his proposal, and Palestinian officials said Mr. Arafat spoke by telephone today to Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister. Meanwhile, Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, was talking with the Israelis by telephone, while Secretary Powell spoke with Mr. Arafat, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, King Abdullah of Jordan and Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/29/international/middleeast/29MIDE.html?pagewanted=all&position=top