MIDDLE EAST: A Palestinian suicide bomber killed three people and injured more than 30 at a Tel Aviv night club, shattering a de facto truce by militants that buoyed hopes for Middle East peace, Israeli media said.
The Islamic Jihad faction claimed responsibility for the blast. Militant groups behind suicide bombings in a 41/2-year-old uprising have followed a de facto truce for several weeks.
But they said they were not bound by the ceasefire agreed by Palestinian President, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon at a summit in Egypt on February 8th.
The last deadly suicide attack inside Israel was on November 1st last year in Tel Aviv.
Ambulances rushed to the scene of "The Stage" night club in a crowded district of Tel Aviv, packed with revellers. The ambulance service said dozens of people were rushed to hospital.
"We passed through the crosswalk and suddenly there a huge explosion," an unnamed witness said.
"The whole area of the club was destroyed. Debris fell to the ground and cars were smashed."
Palestinian officials condemned the attack: "Whoever is behind it is seriously trying to sabotage the efforts being exerted to revive the peace process and should not be allowed to succeed," said Palestinian negotiator Mr Saeb Erekat.
Palestinian militant leaders have been due to meet officials in Cairo on March 5th to discuss whether to formalise the ceasefire. Hamas and other factions have said they are still not satisfied with Israeli gestures meant to build confidence - such as prisoner releases and an end to army raids and assasinations.
Meanwhile, Israel intends to accelerate the pace of its pull-out from the Gaza Strip this summer in a bid to avoid drawn-out confrontation with Jewish settlers who refuse to leave, government officials said yesterday.
"Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz is aiming to complete the withdrawal in four weeks instead of seven," one official said.
A shorter time period for the evacuation of Gaza's 21 Israeli settlements, due to be carried out in four phases starting on July 20th, could keep tensions from festering among settlers and their supporters, the officials said.
Israel plans to pour thousands of police and troops into and around the occupied territory for the pull-out amid fears that some settlers would respond violently to attempts to remove them.
Jewish settler officials have called for peaceful resistance but protection has been stepped up for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other government leaders, who some hardline rabbis and settlers accuse of leading Jews into another Holocaust.
Mr Sharon's cabinet approved the Gaza pull-out this week, opening the way for the first evacuation of settlements.
Government officials said a more streamlined withdrawal could also fit into Israel's plans to try to sell settlement structures and assets, such as greenhouses, to international investors or bodies rather than demolish them.
Violence has dropped sharply since Mr Abbas's election last month and the ceasefire he and Mr Sharon agreed in February.
But in fresh violence, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian they spotted trying to enter Israel from Gaza. A military source said he was unarmed and Palestinian security officials said he might have been trying to enter to find work.