WASHINGTON (voa) – President Bush says Friday’s suicide bombing in central Jerusalem will not stall his efforts to seek peace in the Middle East.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says the president condemns the attack as an act of murder, but says U.S. efforts to arrange a cease-fire are continuing.
He also said President Bush still insists Israel must withdraw its military forces without delay from the West Bank.
The Al-Aqsa Brigades, an armed offshoot of Chairman Arafat’s Fatah organization, has claimed responsibility for Friday’s suicide bombing.
Meanwhile, Israeli military officials say reports of hundreds of Palestinians killed at the Jenin West Bank refugee camp inadvertently included the number of injured among the dead.
Palestinian officials allege Israel plans to bury the dead at Jenin are part of a plot to cover up the massacre of hundreds of civilians. Israel strongly denies the charge.
Palestinian officials want visiting U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to inspect the refugee camp, which is one of many West Bank areas Israel has closed to journalists.
Meanwhile, Israel says it has given the United States documents that it says show Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his top aides are directly involved in terror attacks on Israelis.Israeli officials say the papers were seized during the past two weeks in the West Bank, including some that were discovered in Mr. Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah.
The Associated Press quotes Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo as saying he has not seen the documents, but maintains they are part of an Israeli campaign to discredit the Palestinian authority.
