Sharon blames Arafat for attack

Wreckage of the bus that exploded near an Israeli army base Thursday

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon late Thursday blamed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for a suicide bombing of a bus that killed three Israelis earlier in the day, but said he would still visit the United States early next week.

Sharon said he would deliver a blunt message to President Bush:

Israel will not negotiate with the Palestinians until "there is a complete quiet" in the Middle East.

"I was considering not to go to the United States," Sharon said on Israeli Radio. "After consultation, I reached the conclusion to go and make our position clear and to say that Israel will not have any negotiations before there is a complete quiet and before Arafat fights terror."

Palestinians contend the only way to end the ongoing violence is through negotiations.

It is that point of difference that U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni is trying to bridge in meetings with both sides.

Zinni is pressing the two sides to end the fighting, which began in September 2000. His immediate goal is to establish a cease-fire by implementing accords accepted by the two sides.

Little movement on Zinni's goals was expected before Sharon returns next week.

Seven die in violence

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a bus near an Israeli army base in northern Israel Thursday, killing three Israelis as well as himself, Israeli police said. Israeli radio identified the bomber as Fares Abu Suliman, an Islamic Jihad militant.

Nine others were wounded, one critically, medical sources said.

"We see Arafat as the one responsible directly to those actions of murderers and ask him to stop the actions of terror," Sharon said.

The bus was traveling on a major highway between the coastal cities of Hadera and Afula when a "massive explosion" tore through the vehicle, police said. The bus, No. 823, had left from Nazareth and was headed to Tel Aviv.

The Palestinian Authority issued a statement condemning the bombing. "The authority reaffirms that it is working in its full capacity to put an end to all sorts of attacks against Israeli civilians," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, two Palestinians and an Israeli died in separate West Bank shootings.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians at an Israeli checkpoint near Nablus.

The Red Crescent said the Israeli army turned over one body, identified as that of Rashid Mahana, 39. The second body, which the army transferred to Israel, was not identified.

The Israel Defense Forces said a car appeared suspicious as it approached the checkpoint. "Since the driver did not stop, the soldiers shot at the car and killed the driver," said an IDF spokesman.

"Most probably as a result of the shooting an innocent passenger was killed in a another car from a lost bullet. The IDF expresses sorrow over loss of life and is still investigating the incident."

In a separate incident, Palestinian gunmen in Bakaa al Sharkiya on the West Bank shot two Israelis, Israeli hospital sources said. One of the Israelis later died, Israel Radio reported.

Talking toward a cease-fire

Zinni met with Israeli and Palestinian security officials on the third day of his mission to get both sides to agree to a cease-fire.

Zinni, a retired Marine Corps general, has already met with Arafat and Sharon. He also toured the West Bank and central Israel.

In remarks Wednesday, Zinni stressed it is time to end the region's violence and move toward peace.

"I think both sides have suffered far too much in the last months, and I think it's time for a change," Zinni said.

"I'm convinced both sides made a commitment to this, and we have made a commitment to help in this process, and I think it's important for everyone on all sides -- all citizens -- to commit to this."

In their meeting Wednesday, Arafat told Zinni he is prepared to devote 100 percent of his efforts to stop ongoing violence on the Palestinian side.

In negotiations elsewhere, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns talked with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo about Mideast peace before moving on to Saudi Arabia.

Sharon is to meet with Bush at the White House December 3-4 to discuss the Middle East situation and the war on terrorism.