CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) – Arab leaders pressured Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday to do more to halt Israel’s military sweep in the West Bank in defiance of President Bush’s fresh call for a swift pullback. “I meant what I said,” the president declared in the United States.

King Mohammed VI bluntly told Powell on the first stop of his peacemaking mission that U.S. officials should focus on a withdrawal, saying, “Don’t you think it was more important to go to Jerusalem first?”

In response, Powell demanded “a clear statement from Israel that they are beginning to withdraw” from Palestinian-held territories and “to do it now.”

Hours later, the Israeli defense ministry announced troops were preparing to pull back from two West Bank cities, Qalqiliya and Tulkarem, early Tuesday. Palestinian security sources said tanks began leaving the cities before dawn.

“It’s a start,” White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.

“I hope this is not a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but a pullback,” Powell said, referring to Israel’s mixed signals. Still, he called it an encouraging sign. “I hope it’s the beginning of further withdrawals,” he added.

If Israel should pull back, Powell said, “the operation has entered a new phase” that could help him move ahead in peacemaking.

Powell rejected any suggestion that the Bush administration was giving Sharon more time. “He’s not been getting a free ride,” he said.

The secretary of state’s comments came after he held a critical 2 1/2-hour meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whose land-for-peace proposal to Israel has been overshadowed by Israel’s thrust into the West Bank and by the heated Arab response. Abdullah is scheduled to see Bush at the end of the month at the president’s Texas ranch.

Earlier, after meeting the king of Morocco, Powell said he had spoken to Bush and “He is expecting efforts on the part of the Israeli authorities to start bringing this operation to some conclusion.”

He said he also had asked the king to counsel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to halt violence against Israelis. The secretary said he hopes to see Arafat later in the week.

Mohammed, the first leader to meet with Powell as the secretary began a trip aimed at halting the violence between Israelis and Palestinians, assured Powell that Morocco will be ready to act on Abdullah’s proposal “without any prior conditions” as soon as Israeli troops withdraw from the West Bank and free Arafat from confinement in Ramallah.

In Knoxville, Tenn., Bush said Mideast peace will require leadership by both sides, as Powell was urging Arabs to help him get a cease-fire and start Israel and the Palestinians toward peacemaking.