Moshe Katsav: disappointed by the prime minister's veto

Earlier the prime minister's office issued a statement saying the comments were never made.

But in his telephone call to the president, Mr Sharon also insisted that a visit to Ramallah would harm Israel's interests.

He said there was no point in visiting the West Bank town when those responsible for the killing of the Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi last October were still at large.

A statement from the president's office said Mr Katsav would respect the prime minister's decision but would continue to show interest in all initiatives that could bring an end to the blood-letting.

He said he felt the initiative should be discussed in depth, because it entailed no diplomatic concessions or preconditions.

However, Prime Minister Sharon has been reluctant to consider conciliatory gestures at this stage, arguing Yasser Arafat must do more to end the attacks against Israel.

Controversy

A public address to the Palestinians by Israel's president would have been seen as highly significant.

The Israeli president - an essentially honorary and neutral figure - gets rarely involved in policy-making.

But Mr Katsav, a member of Mr Sharon's right-wing Likud Party, has provoked debate before.

He intervened unsuccessfully on 23 December when Mr Sharon banned Yasser Arafat from making his traditional visit to Bethlehem for Christmas mass.

He also caused a stir recently when he attended a ceremony in northern Israel commemorating two Arab-Israelis killed by police during protests in October 2000.