Palestinian suicide bombers struck in Israel and the West Bank today, killing two Israelis and shattering six weeks of relative calm ushered in by a ceasefire.
The explosions, at an Israeli supermarket and a West Bank bus stop, threatened to derail the two-month-old, US-brokered peace "road map", already in trouble amid recriminations between Palestinians and Israelis over non-compliance with its terms.
The first explosion tore through a supermarket in the central Israeli town of Rosh Ha'ayin. At least one person was killed as well as the suicide bomber. Six people were wounded.
Less than an hour later, a Hamas bomber (21) killed himself and one other person and wounded several in a group hitchhiking by a petrol station outside the major Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank.
The armed wing of Islamic militant movement Hamas claimed responsibility for the West Bank attack in a statement on its website, saying it was avenging Israel's "assassination" of two members in a raid in the city of Nablus last week.
Militant group officials, including one from Hamas, said the truce remained in force. But Israel has postponed a release of 76 Palestinian prisoners. The Palestinians' reformist leadership wants thousands freed to reduce the popularity of militants opposed to peace moves.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Palestinians had no hope of winning statehood from Israel as promised by the road map if they did not subdue militant groups.
"It will not be possible... to advance in the [peace] process - and ultimately the Palestinians might not achieve what they want to achieve - because if the terror will not stop completely Israel will not be able to continue the process despite its fervent desire to do so," he said in a speech.
The road map charts a path to Palestinian independence in occupied West Bank and Gaza territory by 2005.