Israeli leader Mr Ariel Sharon accused Palestinian Prime Minister Mr Ahmed Qurie of leading a government of "murder and lies", in reported comments today that appeared to rule out any future peace negotiations.
Mr Sharon's biting words in the interview with Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily seemed to signal his intent to press ahead with a go-it-alone plan to disengage from the Palestinians, a move he says will leave them with a smaller state than they are seeking.
"The Abu Ala (Qurie) government is a government of murder and lies. It will be impossible to reach any agreement with this government," Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's biggest newspaper, quoted Sharon, the prime minister, as saying.
Asked to respond, Mr Qurie told reporters: "We do not have murderers. We have a cause. We are part of this good, patient and steadfast people. Therefore, this statement is totally unacceptable."
The paper said Mr Sharon was furious over the phrasing of the condemnation issued by Mr Qurie's office of a suicide bombing that killed eight passengers on a Jerusalem bus on Sunday, a day before World Court hearings on Israel's West Bank barrier.
Condemning the targeting of civilians on both sides, Mr Qurie's office said attacks such as the bus bombing gave Israel a pretext to "continue the construction of the annexation and expansion wall" in the West Bank.
Israel says the yet-to-be-completed barrier, which dips into land Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war, has already stopped suicide bombers from reaching its cities.
Mr Sharon has said he would unilaterally set a "security line" in the West Bank and Gaza Strip should a violence-stalled peace "road map" sponsored by the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia fail.
As part of his "separation" plan, the Israeli leader is considering the removal of most of the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians fear Mr Sharon will couple the evacuation with a bid to annex large settlement blocs in the West Bank.