Israel says it has evidence Syria was involved in the bombing at a Tel Aviv nightclub on Friday that killed five Israelis and wounded dozens more. It intends to present the evidence to representatives of the international community.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom is to present the evidence to ambassadors of the European Union and all countries now serving on the U.N. Security Council. Israeli officials say, however, that the evidence will not be made public.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accused Syrian-based elements of Islamic Jihad of being behind the attack. Syria denied the charge, saying the Islamic Jihad office in Damascus has been closed. Syrian officials also were quoted as saying that Damascus supports the current Palestinian peace efforts, and that the suicide bombing only hurts those efforts.
Mr. Sharon warned the Palestinians must crack down on militants and dismantle what he termed the terror infrastructure before any progress can be made in getting peace talks back on track.
On Monday, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official said there can be no shortcuts in the fight against terrorism.
Ron Posdor told Israel Radio the Palestinian Authority must act, and he said the international community must also do its part to put pressure on the Palestinians, as well as those countries who give sanctuary or support for terrorist groups.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday he would not tolerate attacks like the Friday night bombing, and he reaffirmed his commitment to finding peace. Mr. Abbas told Britain's Independent newspaper it would be irresponsible to let the chance for finding peace slip away because of the incident.
He added that the Palestinians are exerting, what he termed 100 percent effort to end violence.
