Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority held Israel "entirely responsible" for the attack by settlers late today near the West Bank town of Hebron, which killed three Palestinians, including a three-month-old baby, and wounded four others.
"We hold the Israeli government responsible for the explosion of the situation and for this dangerous escalation which has resulted in the murder of Palestinians near Hebron by extremist settlers," Mr Nabil Abu Rudeina, advisor to Arafat, said.
Mr Rudeina called on "the international community, including the American administration and the countries of the G8 meeting in Italy, to intervene immediately to stop the Israeli aggressions."
Earlier today, an explosion that rocked the Israeli Mediterranean resort town of Netanya today was described by police as a criminal affair.
"It appears that because of the people involved and the way the bomb was planted, that it was not intended to hurt a lot of people.These two things show that it was criminal," a senior police officer said
Two people were wounded in the blast. Several ambulances were rushed to the scene in the centre of the town that lies about 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Tel Aviv.
AFP