Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, touring the ruins of the World Trade Center today, said Middle East peace would not be achieved until Palestinian President Yasser Arafat stopped directing a policy of violence and terror.
Mr Sharon arrived in New York after emergency talks in Tel Aviv with his military chiefs on Israel's response to a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed three Israelis on a bus in northern Israel.
The 73-year-old former general, who meets next week with US President Bush in Washington, has put the blame for a new spate of attacks by Palestinian militants on Mr Arafat.
"I don't believe it is possible to achieve the peace we aspire to as long as Arafat directs a policy of violence and terror," Mr Sharon said in New York on Friday.
The Palestinian Authority condemned yesterday's attack and Palestinian officials denied Mr Arafat bore any responsibility.
After touring the wreckage of the World Trade Center, where more than 3,600 people were killed on September 11th by suicide plane attacks on the twin towers, Mr Sharon also vowed that democracies would win the fight against terror.
"I can assure you that democracies will defeat terror. The United States, under the courageous leadership of President Bush, will win the fight against terror and we will win the fight against terrorism," Mr Sharon said, while standing next to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Meanwhile US envoy Mr Anthony Zinni accused Palestinian militants today of trying to derail his Middle East peace mission, but vowed not to be deterred by a suicide bombing which killed three Israelis on a bus.
Mr Zinni said he would persevere with his efforts to broker a lasting ceasefire after 14 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence despite yesterday's attack in northern Israel, claimed by the Islamic Jihad movement, and the spectre of more assaults.