GENE RANDALL, CNN ANCHOR: The White House, of course, is closely watching events in the Middle East, and for the latest we turn to Kelly Wallace, who is there -- Kelly.</s>KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Gene, the White House said the president and his entire Middle East policy team have been engaged in intensive efforts nonstop for the past 12 hours to try to reduce tensions in the region. As we've been reporting, the president canceled a political fund- raising trip to the Midwest, but he telephoned some Indiana Democrats a short time ago. He told them that he was sorry he couldn't be there. He said that he stayed up all night working on the situation in the Mideast. There is a definite sense of urgency here, one U.S. official describing this as a critical moment, saying the administration is well aware of how the danger of violence can spiral out of control. Now, the president made some more phone calls. He telephoned Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak following Mr. Barak's news conference. Mr. Clinton also called Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The U.S. leader talked with both leaders earlier this morning as well. The president's message is that they must do everything they can to stop the violence, and that they must adhere to the commitments made to U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in France last week. Now, as for the prime minister's deadline, 48-hour deadline to the Palestinians, when asked if this was helpful or hurtful to the peace process, one U.S. official would only say that it is understandable. The Israelis feel that they have taken steps, such as pulling out of Joseph's Tomb, and they feel that the Palestinians have not reciprocated. Again, though, one senior administration official telling us privately that any provocative statement, such as assigning blame or issuing any type of deadline, are not helpful, although this official cautioned against reading too much into any one statement, saying this is a drama with a lot of moving pieces -- Gene.</s>RANDALL: Kelly Wallace at the White House. Thanks, Kelly
White House Frantically Works to Avert Middle East Violence