KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat attacked Israel's use of "American weapons" such as fighter jets and tanks in spiralling Mideast violence as he pressed for support in Asia today.

Arafat, who came under fire from US President George W Bush yesterday for failing to do enough to halt the bloodshed, said the weapons were being used against "women and children, houses, villages and towns."

The Palestinian leader was speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur on the latest leg of a whirlwind tour to seek Asian support which has already taken him to India, Pakistan, China and Vietnam.

Meeting with Mahathir

After brief remarks as he left his hotel, he headed for a meeting with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamamed, scheduled for 5pm in the new administrative capital Putrajaya south of Kuala Lumpur.

Arafat pointed out that Malaysia and the Palestinians have long had "strong relations," and added he was "loking forward to this continuous support."

He said said he would discuss with Mahathir "the whole situation from all its sides and from all its levels."

Mahathir is known as a firm supporter of the Palestinian cause.

Arafat last visited Malaysia in August last year.

He was due to go on to Bangladesh immediately after the meeting, official sources said.

The Palestinian leader, accompanied by a 14-member entourage, flew into Kuala Lumpur at 6am today in his private jet, a foreign ministry official said.

He rested at a luxury hotel for most of the day before leaving for his meeting with Mahathir.

Earlier, Arafat stopped briefly in Hanoi en route from China to Malaysia.

Peace jeopardised

He held talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai.

Arafat briefed the premier on the "situation in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel" which was "seriously jeopardising the Middle East peace process," said the mouthpiece daily of the ruling communist party, Nhan Dan (The People) today.

"Israel's use of heavy weapons against Palestinian positions has caused significant casualties and material losses to civilians," the paper quoted him as saying.

Khai reiterated Vietnam's support for the "just struggle and inviolable national rights of the Palestinian people" and "expressed concern about the dangers of escalation," the paper said.

He called for every effort to be made to resume peace talks on the basis of UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and the exchange of land for peace.

It was the Palestinian leader's 11th visit to communist Vietnam, which along with other Eastern Bloc states, was a staunch Cold War supporter of the Palestinian cause.

As Arafat prepared to meet with Mahathir, the Israeli army said a hardline Palestinian faction attacked a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip early today, killing three Israeli soldiers and wounding seven.