"I recognize he is the elected represented of the Palestinian Authority, and he has standing among Palestinians, but now he has now got use whatever standing he has to make sure that terrorism doesn't derail us again, by speaking out against it," Powell told CNN.

"If he continues to be a hindrance, then I think all the other nations which work with Mr. Arafat have to make a judgement whether they want to work with somebody who is not assisting (Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud) Abbas in moving forward," he said.

"If he does anything that undercuts Prime Minister Abbas and does not allow us to achieve the promise of the roadmap, he has to be held to account for that," Powell added.

His remarks came hours after four Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack on a military checkpoint Sunday by Palestinian hardline groups, endangering the roadmap peace plan and Abbas' efforts to secure a ceasefire.

The soldiers were killed Sunday when three militants opened automatic gunfire on an army position at the Erez crossing point between Israel and the Gaza Strip before being gunned down themselves.

The attack, claimed by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, came only four days after Abbas vowed to rein in radical groups at his summit in Aqaba, Jordan with US President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

"Yasser Arafat has to play a more positive role than he's been playing in recent days or in the last couple of years," Powell said on Fox News Sunday.

"We have not found him a useful interlocuter -- that's why we haven't dealt with him over he past year or so," the US secretary of state said.

"I hope more nations around the world will bring pressure to bear on Yasser Arafat so that he helps Prime Minister Abbas develop the capability to deal with terrorism, and doesn't just sit on the sidelines hoping that Abbas fails."

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