Germany leads outrage at Mideast bomb

LONDON, England -- German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer led a chorus of international outrage at the latest Mideast violence.

A suicide bomber killed himself and 17 young people outside a busy disco on Tel Aviv's waterfront on Friday night.

Fischer, in Israel as part of a five-day Mideast trip, visited the shattered entrance of the nightclub and stood with head bowed in tribute to the victims.

"This terrible situation must be changed. The road to peace has to be opened and therefore the terror must be stopped immediately," he told Reuters.

Fischer was to meet Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat on Saturday.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon not to retaliate for the worst single death toll since violence flared in September.

"Mr. Prime Minister, I ask you to not let this infuriating act detract from efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict," he said in a note to Sharon.

"The cowardly perpetrator should not be allowed to succeed in throwing their country and the whole region into an even bigger catastrophe," he said.

Sharon had been due to start a four-day visit to Germany, France and Belgium on Monday, but cancelled the trip, sources in his office told Reuters on Saturday.

French President Jacques Chirac urged both sides to resume talks.

AUDIO Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister: There is no future in violence 270K/25.secs. AIFF or WAV sound     ALSO Israel mulls suicide bomb response Bush condemns bombing in Tel Aviv Ministers urge Sharon to end ceasefire

"He renews France's solemn call for the immediate cessation of all violence and urgently calls for the parties to resume dialogue," a statement from the presidential palace said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the bombing was "completely unforgivable."

"We want to express our shock at events in Israel ... and our wish once again that everything that can be done should be done in order to bring a faster negotiation process in the Middle East."

"The region stands on the brink," Britain's Foreign Secretary Robin Cook added in a statement.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the bombing deserved "the worst condemnation and indignation."

"Under these conditions, patience and calm are needed," a statement from the ministry added.

"One should not allow the provocations of the extremists, no matter how severe, destroy the plans to de-escalate the crisis, stop violence and establish a political dialogue between Palestine and Israel."

'Heinous attack'

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana added his condemnation.

"Once again, the European Union recalls that it is absolutely against terror and that these actions kill the hopes of peace," Solana said in a statement.

He appealed to both Israelis and Palestinians "not to yield to pressure of the enemies of peace."

U.S. President George W. Bush urged Arafat to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Bush urged Arafat to condemn "the heinous terrorist attack."

The attack illustrated "the urgent need for an immediate, unconditional cessation of violence," Bush said.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the bombing underscored "the urgency of breaking the cycle of violence."

The bombing brought the death toll in the eight-month-old uprising to at least 450 Palestinians, 108 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs.

Arafat denounced the attack and called on all sides to show self-restraint, his spokesman said.

Israel said it held the Palestinian Authority responsible for the blast and a spokesman for Sharon, who announced a limited, unilateral ceasefire last week, said the government would responded "at a time and place that we decide."

The Israeli Cabinet was meeting on Saturday to discuss a response.

Other countries to condemn the blast included Japan, whose Foreign Ministry said the government was shocked by the bombing and expressed its condolences to the bereaved families and sympathy to the injured.

"Terrorism cannot be justified for any reason. Japan once again urges all parties concerned to exert self-restraint in order to prevent further deterioration of the situation," a ministry statement said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard called on both sides to "act decisively and with courage to prevent a further decline into senseless violence."