PRESIDENT Clinton condemned the bomb blast in Jerusalem and pledged to continue pressing ahead for peace.
"This is a troubling moment, but I am determined to see that it does not defeat the peace process," he told reporters at the White House. "We must spare no effort to support Israel and the other supporters of peace in defeating the forces of terrorism.
"It is clear that there are forces at work in the Middle East who don't want peace."
He added: "I do believe that Chairman Arafat has made efforts and I think he'll make more. We have to build the capacity with all the forces in the Middle East including the Palestinian Authority to promote law and order and to stand against terrorism. It is going to be a long battle. I believe we'll prevail."
The US Secretary of State, Mr Warren Christopher, on a tour of Latin America, denounced the bomb attack as barbaric and grotesque, but called on Israelis not to allow the terrorists to win.
In Jerusalem dozens of Israeli protesters scuffled with police, chanting "death to the Arabs" and anti government slogans.
Police set up barriers to prevent a crowd from entering the Old City seeking revenge in the Arab quarters. Sixteen people were detained.
The protesters, many of them far right activists, waved black flags and banners denouncing the Israeli security forces and chanted "Peres resign". Several threatened Mr Peres with death, saying "you're next".
President Ezer Weizman and the leader of the main opposition Likud party, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, issued new appeals for calm.
Pope John Paul expressed his "strong and total condemnation" of the suicide bomb. "There is no justification for such recourse to violence," he said.
Egypt called on Israel and the Palestinians "not to submit" to attempts to undermine the peace process. The attack "shows the insistence of extremists on both sides to sabotage the peace process, but they must not be given the opportunity", the Foreign Minister, Mr Amr Mussa, said.
King Hussein of Jordan said he was angered and disgusted by the bombing, calling the attack an attempt to provoke Israel into retaliation.
However, Iranian state radio said it was proof of the "strength" of Islamic Palestinian groups and a sign that the Middle East peace process is failing.
Libya called the bombing a "martyr's attack" and said the Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gadafy, had predicted that "Palestine was a tomb for Jews".
. The confessed assassin of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is fit to stand trial for murder and shows no sign of mental weakness, psychiatrists told a court yesterday. The three specialists had been appointed by the Tel Aviv court to run psychiatric tests on Jewish extremist Yigal Amir to determine his mental stability.