Middle East ceasefire talks end without deal

The tentative hopes for a truce after 18 months of violence in the Middle East were dashed last night as Israeli and Palestinian security commanders failed to agree terms amid continuing bloodshed.

On another grim day, a suicide bomber killed seven passengers on a bus before talks, mediated by the US envoy Anthony Zinni, ended without the hoped for declaration of a truce.

Palestinian officials had hoped a ceasefire declaration would have been made after the meeting to lay the ground for Israel to grant permission to Yasser Arafat to travel to the Arab League summit in Beirut next week, where the much-vaunted Saudi Middle East peace plan tops the bill.

But last night, the Israeli defence ministry spokesman Yarden Vatikay said there were still gaps but negotiators could meet again as early as Thursday. Yesterday's talks went ahead despite an attempt to scuttle them by Palestinian militants behind the attack on the bus packed with soldiers and civilians near Umm al-Fahm.

The bus bombing came the day after a visit to Israel by Dick Cheney, the US Vice-President, during which he announced he was willing to meet Yasser Arafat soon if the Palestinian leader moved to implement the first steps of a truce plan, drawn up by George Tenet, the CIA director.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bomb, which exploded at 7.10am when the bus was travelling from Tel Aviv to Nazareth Illit in the Galilee, through an area largely populated by Arabs with Israeli citizenship.

Arabs, who generally support the Palestinians of the occupied territories, were among the several dozen wounded when the bomber blew himself up. Four of the dead were Israeli soldiers ­ a fact that will doubtless be used by the Palestinian militants, who see them as a legitimate target, to justify the operation despite the fact that it was also a deadly assault on civilians.

It was the third attack in four months on the bus route, which runs close to the northern border of the West Bank. Yosef Ben-Yosef, the driver, said the bomber boarded the bus, paid the fare to travel to the nearby Israeli town of Afula and went to the back of the vehicle, where he blew himself up.

"People were blown out of the windows and were lying on the road on both sides of the bus," the driver said. "Inside, dead and wounded people were lying everywhere. It was ghastly, indescribable."

Vadim Weinfus, a soldier on the bus, said: "He argued a bit with the driver ... and then walked to the centre of the bus, and then I noticed he was wearing a coat and when he sat down I saw something inside. Just as I was going to insert the ammunition clip [into my rifle] to stop this guy somehow ­ because I was sure this was it ­ he exploded."

Mr Sharon accused Mr Arafat of sticking to his "policy of terror", but refrained from an immediate military response despite demands from his partners on the Israeli right wing for tough reprisals.

The Palestinian Authority denounced the bombing and said it was working hard to reach a ceasefire.

The authority said in a statement released to Israel Radio: "World public opinion, which stood beside the Palestinians against the Israeli offensive against Palestinian civilians, will never accept Palestinians attacking civilians within Israel, even though the Israeli side continues with its blockades and assassinations against civilians.

"We urge against carrying out any operations against civilians in Israel, in order to avoid hampering the international efforts and those of General Zinni towards implementation of a ceasefire and the Tenet understandings. We must not grant extremists in Israel an excuse for continuing their aggression against our people."

Officials within the Palestinian Authority are pressing for the truce moves to be coupled with a commitment from Israel to take steps to address the central political issue ­ the Israeli occupation. Israeli officials say that there is a committee to discuss the political issues, which can begin to work once the ceasefire measures start to take effect.

But how far the authority's position is supported by Palestinian militants is unclear. After the deaths of 1,218 Palestinians in 18 months and prolonged economic misery, they appear to have no difficulty in recruiting large numbers of suicide bombers.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad identified the bomber as Rafat Abu Diyak, a 24-year-old from the West Bank town of Jenin, which the Israeli army has blockaded for months and invaded with tanks, storming into its refugee camp. Islamic Jihad said the bombing was revenge for the killing by Israel of its members.