US President George Bush condemned the suicide attack in a busy area of Tel Aviv late last night that left five people dead, including the two bombers, and wounded about 40 others.
"I offer my deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of those killed and to the wounded in the homicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv and the attack yesterday (Tuesday) in the West Bank," Mr Bush said in a statement, in which he condemned the "despicable acts of terror."
He said that, "once again, terrorist violence directed against Israelis has taken innocent life.
"Peace cannot be built on a platform of violence against innocents," he stressed, noting that there is now "broad international consensus - as evidenced by the meetings this week in Washington and New York - on the need to support Palestinian reform, address the urgent humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people and restore momentum toward a two-state solution."
Members of the international diplomatic quartet on the Middle East - the US, the UN, the EU and Russia - at a meeting Tuesday in New York found common ground in endorsing Bush's call for a Palestinian state within three years, which was welcomed as "encouraging and balanced" by the Palestinian Authority.
AFP