JERUSALEM (REUTERS) — After scant progress on the Israeli and Palestinian stops on his peace trip, Secretary of State Colin Powell heads to Lebanon Monday, where attacks on Israel by Hizbollah guerrillas have sparked fears of wider conflict.

In Beirut, government sources said Powell would hold talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, before visiting Syria, Lebanon’s political master and Hizbollah’s main backer.

Powell was expected to return to Israel Monday evening, although his agenda for Tuesday has not yet been set.

“He will be traveling to Beirut and Damascus … for discussions of another situation of urgent and serious concern — firing across the U.N. line at Israel’s northern border,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said earlier that Powell would probably meet Palestinian President Yasser Arafat again Tuesday.

Powell ventured to Arafat’s bullet-pocked and besieged headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank and met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday but emerged reporting little headway in his quest for Middle East peace.

Boucher said Powell urged Sharon to withdraw troops from Palestinian areas occupied by Israeli troops during a 16-day-old offensive.

Powell also voiced “serious concerns” about conditions in the West Bank, especially Jenin, where a large refugee camp was in ruins, with many dead.

His talks with Arafat failed to yield agreement on a cease-fire that the Palestinians say must start with an Israel withdrawal.

Peace Conference?

Sharon said Powell had supported his idea for a U.S.-hosted regional peace conference during talks Sunday.

Arafat later said he was prepared to accept the peace conference proposal but renewed his call for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank.

“Any initiative which would be declared by President Bush I will accept it to achieve peace,” Arafat said in a telephone interview with Fox News. “I am ready for an immediate conference, but at the same time immediate withdrawal. No one can accept occupation.”

Palestinian negotiator Erekat had earlier told Reuters the idea was a “waste of time” and no substitute for a peace plan floated by the Saudis and backed by last month’s Arab summit.

In Washington, deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said U.S. and Palestinian officials would meet Monday to work on arranging a cease-fire following Powell’s meeting.

“The first thing we will have to have is a cease-fire, and that’s what the secretary’s staff is looking to try to work out tomorrow [Monday],” Armitage said on the CBS “Face the Nation” program.

The White House said it hoped Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia would help work for a permanent peace settlement.

Jenin Ruins

Israel says its offensive seeks to root out militants behind a wave of suicide attacks that have killed dozens of Israelis. Palestinians believe Sharon’s aim is to destroy the Palestinian Authority and scupper past peace deals.

Israeli troops began leaving some towns Tuesday but moved into six more villages Saturday, despite U.S. appeals to pull out. Ramallah, Jenin, Nablus and Bethlehem remain under Israeli curfew, along with several refugee camps and villages.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and wounded during the campaign.

In Bethlehem, Palestinians said Israeli troops laying siege to gunmen holed up in the Church of the Nativity had opened fire early Monday, but the Israeli army denied there had been any shooting.

Bullets still spraying

Powell was driven past crushed cars, Israeli tanks and bullet-sprayed buildings for his meeting with Arafat, ignoring Sharon’s view that such talks would be a “tragic mistake.”

The secretary of state postponed the meeting after a suicide bombing in Jerusalem Friday, but went ahead with it after Arafat condemned the bombing and all attacks on civilians.

Erekat said Arafat would meet Powell’s security demands if the United States forced an immediate Israeli withdrawal.

“I’m sure the secretary saw President Arafat’s situation, saw who’s controlling here,” he said, referring to Israel’s siege of Arafat’s compound. “And I believe that once the Israelis complete their full withdrawal, we will, as Palestinians, carry out our obligations.”

Israel has said it will end its offensive only after its forces have completed sweeps for militants.

At least 1,268 Palestinians and 452 Israelis have been killed since a Palestinian revolt against occupation erupted in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.