Sharon says Abbas must 'wipe out' militant groups

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, responding to a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed four Israelis, said on Sunday new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas must "wipe out" militant groups before peacemaking can resume.

"There will not be any diplomatic progress, I repeat, no diplomatic progress, until the Palestinians take vigorous action to wipe out the terror groups and their infrastructure in the Palestinian Authority's territory," Sharon told his cabinet.

In the broadcast remarks, Sharon said Abbas' immediate task following the deadly attack at a Tel Aviv nightclub on Friday was to move against Islamic Jihad, the group that claimed responsibility for the bombing that shattered a de facto truce.

If action was not taken, the prime minister said, "Israel will have to step up its military activities that are aimed at protecting the lives of Israeli citizens".

Sharon and Abbas declared a ceasefire at a groundbreaking summit in Egypt on Feb. 8 that raised hopes of an end to more than four years of violence stalling Middle East peacemaking.

Palestinian militant groups rejected a formal truce but had said they would continue to abide by a de facto ceasefire that preceded the summit.

Abbas strongly condemned the Tel Aviv bombing, the first deadly Palestinian attack in Israel since November, saying it was aimed at sabotaging peace efforts.

But immediately after the bombing, Israeli leaders said he should start to arrest and disarm militants, as required by a US-backed peace "road map", rather than pursue a dialogue with them.

- REUTERS