HIGHLIGHTS: Al-Faisal Pleased with What He Heard From the President||Arafat to Set Date for Legislative & Presidential Elections, Soon||Peres Backs Powell Plan||Poll Shows Americans' Support for Israel on Decline|| STORY: The Bush administration is strongly leaning toward announcing some type of timetable next week for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, despite Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's uneasiness with the concept, a US official told a reporter Thursday after President George W. Bush held a "warm meeting" with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal. (Read photo caption)

"It's one of the things we're coming to closure on in terms of our approach," the US official said. "We know that it is something a lot of people we have talked to have expressed a need for, particularly on the Arab side."

Bush apparently conveyed this readiness to suggest a timeline to the Saudi foreign minister, who told reporters after their 20-minute White House meeting: "I was very pleased with what I heard from the president."

A State Department spokesman, Phil Reeker, said the two discussed "how the United States and the Saudi crown prince have a very similar approach to bringing peace to the Middle East." Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah has offered Israel normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia in exchange for a full withdrawal from land Israel took control of after the Six Day War.

A senior Arab diplomat said despite all the fluctuation by the administration regarding a timetable, he is confident the president "will come out with an articulation soon, that would include an end game and a timeline." A statement by the president is expected next week. The president's Principals' Committee, a grouping of his senior advisers, is to convene Friday to decide how to proceed.

The US official stressed that the timeline would have a "strong performance component built in," suggesting that Israeli concessions would be conditional on a drop in Palestinian terror, and acknowledged, however, that "the Israelis, particularly Sharon and his people, are very skeptical" of a timeline that would commit Israel to certain moves.

MORE SAUDI INPUT FRIDAY

Friday there will be more Saudi input for US deliberations when Prince Saud al-Faisal meets with Secretary of State Colin Powell. Of that meeting, Reeker said: "This is an ongoing discussion to continue focusing on how best we can move forward with our three-part strategy that is, the effective Palestinian security performance, renewing a serious political process that aims at the two-state solution that the president and others have talked about and responding to the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people, and building strong, responsible Palestinian institutions in preparation for Palestinian statehood." Powell is also due to meet today with Palestinian Minister Nabil Shaath.

Also still in town are Sharon's advisers Dov Weisglass and Moshe Kaplinsky, who are quietly monitoring the feverish diplomacy.

ARAFAT CONVENES RESHUFFLED CABINET

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat convened his new cabinet's first meeting Thursday and vowed to soon set a new date for legislative and presidential elections. He also called for an end to "cycle of violence and bloodshed" and urged his people to give the path of peace a chance.

The State Department called Arafat's statements "positive." "We'll be watching closely for implementation of those idea...Certainly, Chairman Arafat needs to continue to give clear signals to his people that terror and violence cannot help the Palestinians achieve their national aspirations and needs to continue to move decisively to confront terror and violence as part of this overall process," Reeker said.

PERES BACKS POWELL PLAN

Meanwhile, and in an interview with The Associated Press, Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres came out in favor Thursday of a provisional Palestinian state, an idea floated by Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Palestinians did not rule it out.

Peres said the provisional state idea is "more or less" like a concept he worked out with Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia last year. Under that plan, Israel would recognize a Palestinian state beginning with the territories now under Palestinian control, about 40 percent of the West Bank and two-thirds of Gaza.

The two sides would later negotiate solutions to the touchiest issues: final borders, Jerusalem, Jewish settlements and Palestinian refugees.

Critics among Israelis and Palestinians warned the concept only postpones explosive issues, such as final borders and the fate of Palestinian refugees that have torpedoed negotiations in the past.

POLL SHOWS AMERICANS' SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL ON DECLINE

The number of Americans who believe the US supports Israel too much has climbed since last fall, according to a new CNN/USA Friday/Gallup poll.

Fifty percent of those polled said the US either supports Israel the right amount or too little. But 43% said the US gives too much support to Israel, a substantial increase from last October when the question was first asked. Then, only 29% said the US gives too much support to Israel and a larger majority 67% said support was about right or lacking.

The poll also showed that a majority of Americans believe neither Prime Minister Ariel Sharon nor Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat want peace.

Fifty-seven percent said Sharon does not genuinely want peace, while only 32% said he does. An even larger percentage, 76%, said Arafat does not want peace, while only 16% said he does.

Sixty-one percent believe President George W. Bush is doing enough to try to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

PHOTO CAPTION

President Bush meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Thursday, June 13, 2002, in the Oval Office of the White House. Bush is concluding a series of consultations with Middle East leaders in advance of U.S. proposals for the next stage in the peace process. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)