Jerusalem, Aug 13: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accused his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas of failing to carry through on his promises to dismantle militant groups, after two suicide bombers killed two people and wounded 12 others yesterday. "In spite of commitments that the Palestinian authority has taken on itself, before US (Israel), the President of the United States George Bush and the whole world, there has been no concrete action by the Palestinians against terrorist organizations," said Sharon.
"This has permitted these organizations to reinforce, organize and arm themselves and to sabotage all possibility for progress in the peace process," he told a group of Jewish youngsters visiting from abroad in comments broadcast on Israeli television.
Two teenage suicide bombers killed two Israelis and wounded 12 others in attacks within 40 minutes of each other on Tuesday at a shopping mall and in a West Bank settlement.
The worst attacks since Palestinian militants declared a truce six weeks ago, they were claimed by the military wing of the radical group Hamas and a branch of al-Aqsa martyrs brigades, an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
"Despite its strong desire, Israel is not in a position to continue the peace process if terrorism is not halted completely and the Palestinian authority fulfils its commitments," said Sharon.
"Israel will continue to attack terrorists if the Palestinian Authority doesn't," he said. Bureau Report