Palestinians make arrests after Tel Aviv bombing

RAMALLAH - Scrambling to save a battered truce, Palestinians have arrested three West Bank suspects after a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic Jihad group.

The bombing at a Tel Aviv nightclub killed four Israelis and dealt a heavy blow to peace hopes that had brightened since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed to a ceasefire at a Feb. 8 summit.

"We confirm that we carried out the operation," an official for Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, who declined to be named, told Reuters. The group's exiled leadership is primarily based in Damascus but also has a representative in Beirut.

Its Gaza-based leadership, who had earlier denied knowledge of the bombing and said it remained committed to a de facto truce called by Abbas, confirmed the claim.

Israel and the United States said the bombing, the first suicide attack in the Jewish state since November, showed Abbas had to act more forcefully to salvage peace efforts. But Israeli officials said the Jewish state would show restraint for now.

"We will not allow anyone to sabotage the goals and ambitions of our people ... We will bring them to justice," Abbas, elected last month, told reporters.

Palestinian officials said three suspected Palestinian militants were arrested in the bomber's village, Deir al-Ghoson, near Tulkarm. Israeli troops arrested five others there, including two brothers of the bomber, during a raid.

A senior Palestinian security official said inquiries indicated the hand of the Hizbollah guerrilla group, which denied any role and called the accusations a provocation by "the Zionist entity" (Israel).

BOMBER'S VIDEO

A video left by the bomber, Abdullah Badran, 21, showed him flanked by Islamic Jihad flags calling Israelis "enemies of God" and vowing to avenge the killings of Palestinians.

He also accused the Palestinian Authority of "trading in the blood of the martyrs" by following US dictates.

The images of ambulances rushing to the popular Tel Aviv karaoke club and of the blood-stained pavement shook many Israelis, who had begun to believe they had put such scenes behind them.

Israel demanded action instead of more talks, saying Abbas was wrong to think he could coax militants into a formal ceasefire from their de facto truce. "We must see arrests, collecting illegal weapons from those terrorist organizations," said Gideon Meir of the Foreign Ministry.

A 25-nation conference in London next week is due to look at ways to help Palestinians reform their security forces.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanded Palestinian leaders "send a clear message that terror will not be tolerated." Washington has stepped up efforts to revive the peace process after Abbas was elected following the death of Arafat, whom Israel and the United States saw as an obstacle.

Militants say they are still not satisfied with Israeli confidence-building gestures, such as the release of 500 out of 8,000 prisoners and an end to army raids and assassinations.

They also want a more sweeping Israeli pullback from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, which is due to begin on July 20.

- REUTERS