Israel suspends contact with PNA after bomb attack

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Friday ordered all government officials to suspend contact with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) until it curbs violence, one day after militants killed six Israelis.

"Israel informed international leaders today that there will beno meetings with (newly-elected Palestinian leader Mahmoud) Abbas until he makes a real effort to stop the terror," Sharon's spokesman Assaf Shariv announced.

Three Palestinian militants and at least six Israelis were killed on Thursday night in a suicide bombing attack carried out in an area of the commercial passage of Karni in eastern Gaza City.

Israeli and Palestinian security sources said three militants infiltrated into the Israeli side of the passage, detonated 150 kgof explosives, threw hand grenades and clashed with Israeli soldiers.

Israeli army sources said six Israelis and three Palestinian militants, including two suicide bombers, were killed and at least14 Israelis were injured inside the passage area.

Shortly after the attack, Israeli Apache helicopters fired two missiles at Palestinian targets in central Gaza Strip around midnight Thursday, Palestinian witnesses and security sources reported.

The international community has unanimously denounced the attack and called on both sides to keep restraint.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he hoped that the Gaza attack would not undermine hopes for a revival of the Middle East peace process.

"He also calls on the Palestinian leadership to make all possible attempts to bring to justice the organizers and perpetrators of this attack," UN spokesman Stephanie Dujarric said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Moscow "strongly denounces the terrorists' recent raid, "noting that the attack occurred only several days after the election of Abbas, whohas a mandate to restart the political dialogue with Israel.

The statement pointed out that the attack "can only be evaluated as a challenge to the new PNA authorities and a provocation aimed at disrupting the negotiation process with Israel and worsening the position of the Palestinian population."

Herve Ladsous, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, said his country "condemns firmly this attack."

He added that this unacceptable terrorism came after the election of Abbas, who had made the right choice for a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Israeli and Palestinians.

Abbas, due to be sworn in as the new PNA chairman on Saturday, also condemned the attack on Friday.

"This operation and Israel's operations, which killed nine Palestinians this past week, do not contribute to the peace process," he told reporters after the midday prayer.

"We are committed to the peace process and we will implement our campaign program," he said.

Meanwhile, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat rejected Israel's decision to freeze all official contacts with the Palestinians following the overnight bomb attack.

"The best way to end violence is not to freeze talks but to resume them," Erekat told reporters.

Source: Xinhua