Israel closer to 'unilateral steps' after suicide blast

"Israel remains committed to the 'roadmap' as long as this plan has a chance of being implemented, but such an attack draws us near the time when we will have to take unilateral measures," said the official on condition of anonymity.

On December 18, Sharon gave a keynote address in which he said Israel may disengage from the Palestinians should they fail to carry out their responsibilities under the US-backed roadmap.

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The blueprint calls for an end to the violence and for the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005, but has all but collapsed since its official launch last June.

Israel wants Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei to crack down on militant groups in order to halt anti-Israeli attacks.

Sharon's "disengagement plan" would, among other things, involve the relocation of as yet unnamed settlements. It is supported by a majority of Israelis, said a survey released Thursday by public radio.

The plan was squarely rejected by the Palestinians who deplored Sharon's "threatening" tone.

But the official also accused Syria, among other regional powers, of having a hand in Thursday's Tel Aviv blast that killed four Israelis and the bomber.

"The terrorists who perpetrate these attacks are supported by Syria, Iran and the (Lebanese Shiite group) Hezbollah," he said, stressing that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestinian, which claimed the bombing, is headquartered in Damascus. Following an October 4 suicide attack in the Israeli costal city of Haifa, Israeli army warplanes bombed a site near Damascus, allegedly used as a training ground by Palestinian militant groups.

But Syria said the land was empty after the first such Israeli attack in three decades.

Reuters adds: A Palestinian suicide bombing that killed four people in Israel and a helicopter strike that killed a top Islamic militant and four other Palestinians dealt a double blow to hopes of reviving a Middle East peace plan.

Israel stepped up an already tight blockade on travel in and out of the West Bank and Gaza Strip after Thursday's attack in Tel Aviv, the first suicide bombing in almost three months.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei called for total calm to help a troubled US-backed "road map" for peace, but militants vowed bloody revenge for the helicopter strike that killed the commander of Islamic Jihad's military wing.

But there was no respite in Israeli army raids against Palestinians, with five more suspected militants arrested in the West Bank overnight.

"The assassination of the chief leader of the Jerusalem Brigades will not pass without a deterrent, a strong and an earthquake-like response," an Islamic Jihad statement said.