JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A U.S.-led Middle East peace bid was in turmoil on Thursday after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 16 people on a Jerusalem bus and Israeli helicopters killed 10 Palestinians in strikes on militants.
Watching his "road map" peace plan engulfed in a new round of bloodletting, President Bush (news - web sites) condemned the Jerusalem bombing and called on "all the free world...to use every ounce of their power to prevent them."
But promises of more attacks by the militant Hamas group, which claimed responsibility for the Jerusalem blast, and a vow by Israel to track down and kill more Palestinian militants bode ill for U.S. hopes of rekindling its peace initiative.
"We've Returned to War," the Israeli daily Maariv declared in bold, red type on its front page a week after Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas pledged to work for peace at a summit in Jordan.
The toll of 26 dead on both sides made Wednesday one of the bloodiest days in months of conflict.
Sixteen people were killed and more than 100 wounded when a Palestinian bomber disguised as an ultra-Orthodox Jew blew himself up on a bus near Jerusalem's main open-air market during the afternoon rush hour. The blast tore through the bus, decapitating passengers and strewing the street with body parts.
Minutes later, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a car in Gaza City, killing two top Hamas militants and six bystanders. At around midnight, two more Hamas militants were killed in another helicopter missile strike.
Hamas said it sent the bomber to avenge Israel's botched attempt to assassinate Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, a co-founder of Hamas, in a missile attack in Gaza on Tuesday.
CONDEMNATION
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) denounced both the Jerusalem bombing and Israel's missile strikes on Gaza.
Sharon, undeterred by a rare rebuke from Bush for the attempt on Rantissi, vowed to pursue militants "to the fullest extent." But he also said Israel was deeply committed to moving forward toward peace.
Justice Minister Yosef Lapid told Israel radio that Palestinian militants who have rejected the road map were trying to "drag us into over-reaction."
Bush launched the peace plan last week with Sharon and Abbas, in the hope of ending 32 months of bloodshed.
French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) condemned Wednesday's suicide bombing.
"We condemn in the strongest possible way these inhuman... and unacceptable acts, which can only lead to a result other than one we all want, namely the return to peace," Chirac said.
Blair called on the international community to work together to suffocate groups behind the attacks.
On Wednesday, Shirli Rafael, a 25-year-old municipal worker, was shocked by what she saw at the bombing site.
"I saw dead people. Severed hands and fingers lay at my feet. I saw a lot of women covered with blood -- their skin was scorched. There was a headless body near the door," she said.
At the same time, scenes of carnage unfolded in Palestinian-ruled Gaza City, where Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a car moments after the Jerusalem bombing.
Hamas identified one of the dead militants as Tito Massaoud, a leader of its military wing. Palestinian sources said the second militant was a former bodyguard for Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Hamas's spiritual leader.
"Pools of blood, cut-off body parts, cut-off heads -- this is what I saw," one witness in Gaza said.
Bush had expressed concern that the assassination attempt on Rantissi could weaken Abbas, who had been trying to convince Hamas to resume cease-fire talks it broke off last Friday.
Bush told aides to lean on Sharon and Abbas to stick to their commitments to the road map, which stipulates reciprocal measures leading to a Palestinian state by 2005.
Watching his "road map" peace plan engulfed in a new round of bloodletting, President Bush (news - web sites) condemned the Jerusalem bombing and called on "all the free world...to use every ounce of their power to prevent them."
But promises of more attacks by the militant Hamas group, which claimed responsibility for the Jerusalem blast, and a vow by Israel to track down and kill more Palestinian militants bode ill for U.S. hopes of rekindling its peace initiative.
"We've Returned to War," the Israeli daily Maariv declared in bold, red type on its front page a week after Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas pledged to work for peace at a summit in Jordan.
The toll of 26 dead on both sides made Wednesday one of the bloodiest days in months of conflict.
Sixteen people were killed and more than 100 wounded when a Palestinian bomber disguised as an ultra-Orthodox Jew blew himself up on a bus near Jerusalem's main open-air market during the afternoon rush hour. The blast tore through the bus, decapitating passengers and strewing the street with body parts.
Minutes later, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a car in Gaza City, killing two top Hamas militants and six bystanders. At around midnight, two more Hamas militants were killed in another helicopter missile strike.
Hamas said it sent the bomber to avenge Israel's botched attempt to assassinate Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, a co-founder of Hamas, in a missile attack in Gaza on Tuesday.
CONDEMNATION
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) denounced both the Jerusalem bombing and Israel's missile strikes on Gaza.
Sharon, undeterred by a rare rebuke from Bush for the attempt on Rantissi, vowed to pursue militants "to the fullest extent." But he also said Israel was deeply committed to moving forward toward peace.
Justice Minister Yosef Lapid told Israel radio that Palestinian militants who have rejected the road map were trying to "drag us into over-reaction."
Bush launched the peace plan last week with Sharon and Abbas, in the hope of ending 32 months of bloodshed.
French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) condemned Wednesday's suicide bombing.
"We condemn in the strongest possible way these inhuman... and unacceptable acts, which can only lead to a result other than one we all want, namely the return to peace," Chirac said.
Blair called on the international community to work together to suffocate groups behind the attacks.
On Wednesday, Shirli Rafael, a 25-year-old municipal worker, was shocked by what she saw at the bombing site.
"I saw dead people. Severed hands and fingers lay at my feet. I saw a lot of women covered with blood -- their skin was scorched. There was a headless body near the door," she said.
At the same time, scenes of carnage unfolded in Palestinian-ruled Gaza City, where Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a car moments after the Jerusalem bombing.
Hamas identified one of the dead militants as Tito Massaoud, a leader of its military wing. Palestinian sources said the second militant was a former bodyguard for Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Hamas's spiritual leader.
"Pools of blood, cut-off body parts, cut-off heads -- this is what I saw," one witness in Gaza said.
Bush had expressed concern that the assassination attempt on Rantissi could weaken Abbas, who had been trying to convince Hamas to resume cease-fire talks it broke off last Friday.
Bush told aides to lean on Sharon and Abbas to stick to their commitments to the road map, which stipulates reciprocal measures leading to a Palestinian state by 2005.
