A militant Palestinian Islamic group vowed to pursue a bombing campaign to create a balance of terror in its jihad, or holy war, against Israel as US President Mr George W Bush urged Palestinians to give Israeli prime-minister elect Mr Ariel Sharon a chance to form a government and fulfil his promise to pursue peace.
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Islamic Jihad told supporters at a Gaza rally that "the choice of holy war will never stop." Abdallah al-Shami, a leader of the group said: "We confirm that the bombing missions will continue to create a balance of terror."
Mr Sharon, mistrusted by many Arabs, was elected on Tuesday, raising concerns that four months of Israeli-Palestinian violence will go on. A Palestinian group said it had intended to send a message to Mr Sharon when it detonated a car bomb in Jerusalem yesterday, slightly injuring one woman.
"I certainly hope that people recognise a change does not necessarily mean that the peace process won't go forward", Mr Bush told reporters. "And I think we ought to take Mr. Sharon for his word and that is, he wants to promote peace in the Middle East".
Meanwhile violence in the region continued with hospital sources reporting that a 16-year-old Palestinian boy died this afternoon after being wounded earlier in the day by Israeli army gunfire at Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.
Reuters/AFP