A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a Tel Aviv-bound bus in northern Israel last night, killing three passengers. The attack, which was condemned by the Palestinian Authority, took place as security officials from the Authority were holding talks with the new US peace envoy, Mr Anthony Zinni, underlining the magnitude of his task.
The blast reduced the bus to a twisted metal skeleton. The bomber, who had apparently alighted in the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm, detonated the explosives as he sat toward the back of the vehicle. "Fortunately, there were not that many people on the bus," said Israel's Police Chief Shlomo Ahronishky. The bomb was packed with screws and metal scraps for maximum effect, he added.
The bomber "sat on the bus for maybe five or seven minutes," said Mr Tal Goldberg, the driver, who was slightly injured. "He didn't look suspicious to me." When the bomb detonated, the noise was "absolutely unbelievable," Mr Goldberg said. "I was hysterical for a short period, then I set about trying to help."
Earlier in the day, an Israeli soldier on patrol near the West Bank town of Tulkarm was shot dead by Palestinian gunmen. Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops at a roadblock in the Jordan Valley - one man died when he failed to stop the stolen car he was driving, and a second man was killed in a second car, waiting to be checked at the roadblock, by misdirected Israeli fire, Israel Radio reported.
In Gaza, a third Palestinian was shot dead by troops late on Wednesday. The Israeli army said the man ran towards them shouting "God is great" and that they feared he intended to attack them. Palestinian officials called the shooting unprovoked.
An Israeli government spokesman said the attacks on Israeli targets demonstrated that the Palestinian Authority was "doing nothing to stop terrorism". A spokesman for the authority, while stating that Palestinian security personnel would bring those responsible to justice, also called on Israel to "stop its assaults and to stop assassinations which only increase tension".
While Mr Zinni continues to meet Israeli and Palestinian military and security chiefs in his efforts to broker a ceasefire, the success of his mission is likely to be determined not here, but in Washington, in the next few days. That is where Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, will be holding talks with US officials, including a White House meeting on Monday with President George Bush.
Hours before leaving for the US last night, Mr. Sharon reiterated his demand for seven days of complete quiet, "and not one hour less," as a precondition for a return to substantive diplomatic contacts with the Palestinians. "This position will not be changed," he said.
The Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, has told Mr Zinni that this demand is not viable, and constitutes "proof" of Mr Sharon's determination to avoid serious peace talks. Palestinian officials note that there is no "seven days of calm" clause in the American-brokered proposals that both they and Israel profess to have accepted It now appears that it will take direct intervention from Mr Bush to try and persuade Mr Sharon to abandon it.
In his remarks yesterday, Mr Sharon asserted that he was "one of the few" who could strike a deal with the Palestinians which would see the establishment of an independent Palestine. "But it has to be a Palestinian state by agreement, and it has to be a demilitarised Palestinian state."
The Prime Minister also spoke of his aim to bring a million more Jewish immigrants to Israel over the next decade.