Israel has said Mr Yasser Arafat bore responsibility for the suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem which left more than 50 injured and several believed dead, an Israeli government spokesman said.
"Arafat is responsible since he encourages terrorists to commit suicide acts," Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, charged.
He said a speech Mr Arafat made in Ramallah last night in which he prayed to God for martyrdom in Jerusalem was a clear call to Palestinian youths to blow themselves up in the disputed city.
"If anyone had any doubts what Arafat's intentions are, he made them clear last night in Ramallah, calling on Palestinians youths to become martyrs and giving them the place, here in Jerusalem," said Mr Gissin.
"He is calling on them to sanctify death insetad of sanctifying life," he said.
Mr Arafat, quoted in the Israeli press, said in a speech to supporters in the West Bank town yesterday: "Please God, give me the honor of being one of holy Jerusalem's martyrs."
AFP