WASHINGTON - Opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu called Thursday for the deployment of Jordanian troops in the West Bank in order to help impose order.

Netanyahu told reporters during a visit to Washington that he believes that Jordan and Egypt are the key to stabilizing the Palestinian government in the territories.

The Likud chairman added that Egypt must significantly increase its efforts to prevent arms smuggling across its border into the Gaza Strip.

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Meanwhile, the United States Congress is pressuring Egypt to halt the arms trafficking, with lawmakers demanding that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to use new methods in order to apply pressure on Egypt.

The lawmakers are threatening to partially halt the transfer of American foreign aid to Egypt due to its failure to act effectively against the smuggling.

The Congress has the power to halt or place conditions on foreign aid, and has used the authority in the past to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority. The legislators are threatening to freeze $200 million of the $1.3 billion in foreign aid that is expected to be approved in the coming days.

Several dozen senators are also expected to send Rice a letter calling on her to act with utmost determination in order to convince the Egyptians to prevent smuggling across the Philadelphi Route.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has invited Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II to attend a summit in Egypt early next week in what Egypt called an attempt to shore up Abbas and isolate Hamas.