An aide to Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's branding of the Palestinian Authority as a "murderous gang" as an attempt to undermine high-level US-Palestinian talks.
Three Palestinian cabinet ministers met Secretary of State Colin Powell and White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice yesterday, pledging new efforts to end 22 months of Middle East violence.
But in fresh bloodshed today, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Tulkarm. The circumstances were not immediately clear.
Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Qalqilya detained Ibrahim Abdul Dahmas, described by the army as a senior militant of Hamas, an Islamic group behind dozens of suicide bombings. The army said three other militants were taken into custody.
The Palestinians and the United States remained at odds over US President George W. Bush's call in June for them to replace Mr Arafat, their elected president, with a new leadership. Palestinian ministers also sought a firm timetable to statehood.
In a nationally televised speech that political commentators said was aimed at shoring up his popularity after a surge in Palestinian attacks, Mr Sharon called on Israelis not to give in to "feelings of helplessness".
An opinion poll published today in Israel's biggest newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, showed public confidence in Mr Sharon's leadership had dropped by nine percentage points to 57 per cent over the past month.
"Between us and the goal (of peace) stands the gang of murder, terror and corruption of the Palestinian Authority," Mr Sharon said in a televised speech.
"The only way to peace demands this murderous gang be uprooted from its political positions," he said.
Mr Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, an aide to Mr Arafat, answered in kind, calling Mr Sharon and his government "a coalition of terror and a gang of killers". He said Mr Sharon had made the speech with the talks in Washington in mind.
"He wanted to intimidate the Americans and to warn them against reaching any agreement with the Palestinian delegation," Mr Abdel-Rahman said.