Peres encourages U.S. action on Iraq.(NATION)

Byline: Joyce Howard Price, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said yesterday that he does not believe getting rid of Saddam Hussein should be postponed until the crisis between the Israelis and Palestinians eases.

Vice President Richard B. Cheney said leaders of several Arab countries he met with during his trip to the Middle East in March warned him against the United States moving militarily against Iraq while the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is still raging. A main purpose of his trip was to try to gather support for a campaign to oust the Iraqi leader.

But Mr. Peres, interviewed from Rome yesterday on CNN's "Novak, Hunt & …