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| Sunday, 27 February 2005 |
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Rice demands Palestinians find those behind attack WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday demanded Palestinian leaders find those responsible for a suicide bombing that killed at least four people in Tel Aviv and "send a clear message that terror will not be tolerated." In a written statement issued two and a half weeks after she visited Israel and the West Bank to lend her weight to efforts to revive the peace process, Rice condemned the bombing outside a nightclub and offered her sympathies to the victims. The militant Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the attack, which shattered a de facto truce by Palestinian militant groups. It was the first Palestinian bombing in Israel since former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Nov. 11 death. "Terrorist attacks, such as today's bombing in Tel Aviv, not only kill innocent civilians, but also undermine the aspirations and hopes of the Palestinian people." Rice said. "It is essential that Palestinian leaders take immediate, credible steps to find those responsible for this terrorist attack and bring them to justice," she added. "We understand that the Palestinian leadership has condemned the attack. We now must see actions that send a clear message that terror will not be tolerated," she said. Rice traveled to Israel and the West Bank on her first trip as secretary of state to show U.S. interest in promoting peace after the death of Arafat, whom the Bush administration branded a failure and sought to sideline. She will fly to London next week to attend a conference on Tuesday designed to help Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pursue reforms to provide basic services and to gain control of fractured Palestinian security forces. |
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