JERUSALEM - Two Palestinians were killed while preparing a bomb near a Jerusalem stadium where Israel's Maccabiah Games, or Jewish Olympics, are being held.
The incident followed a meeting in Egypt between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat at which Peres dismissed reports that Israel, frustrated over the failure of a United States-brokered truce, was planning a war to topple the Palestinian leader.
"The bodies of two Palestinians were found in an empty field," a police spokesman said. "It appears they were killed in a 'work accident' when a bomb they were preparing detonated."
Two thousand Jewish athletes from all over the world are gathered to participate in the 16th Maccabiah.
The games, held every four years in Israel, were almost cancelled after foreign delegations said registration had been halved by security jitters caused by a Palestinian uprising, now in its tenth month and with a death toll of more than 600, mostly Palestinians.
Israeli officials successfully pressed overseas organisers to go ahead with the showcase event, saying its cancellation would be a victory for "terrorism."
The night-time blast occurred 1km from Jewish West Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium, where the opening ceremony for the 10-day event was scheduled for overnight (New Zealand time). Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was due to attend.
In Cairo, Peres said Israel was searching for a political solution in its dispute with the Palestinians. "We should continue to negotiate with Yasser Arafat, the elected leader of the Palestinian people," Peres said.
"Many mistakes were committed, but the greatest mistake, the mother of mistakes, is war," he added.
Peres dismissed as "totally unfounded" a report in Jane's Foreign Report, a British newsletter, that Sharon would try to destroy the Palestinian Authority's fighting forces in a massive offensive to start after the next suicide bombing in Israel.
- REUTERS
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Bombers killed on eve of Jewish Games
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