Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Sunday Israel was escalating military measures and would freeze peace efforts after a Tel Aviv suicide bombing unless Palestinians smashed militant groups.‘‘There will not be any diplomatic progress, I repeat, no diplomatic progress, until the Palestinians take vigorous action to wipe out the terror groups and their infrastructure in the Palestinian Authority’s territory,” Sharon said.Addressing his cabinetSharon said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s ‘‘immediate test’’ was to act against Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the first deadly Palestinian attack in Israel since November.Later Sharon went a step further by saying Israel was already going ahead with military steps after the bombing outside a night club in Tel Aviv shattered a truce that he and Abbas had declared at a February 8 summit in Egypt.A senior official said Israel would also reconsider a promise to free 400 Palestinian prisoners in addition to 500 released last week in a deal with Abbas.Palestinian Information Minister Ghassan al-Khatib said Sharon’s threats ‘‘would be a recipe for more violence’’.Palestinian officials said talks planned with militant groups in Cairo to discuss a ceasefire with Israel were postponed for 10 days until March 15 due to the Tel Aviv attack.Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio that Israel would ‘‘resume all tactics’’ including assassinations of Islamic Jihad leaders if Abbas did not rein in militants. The Palestinian Authority condemned the blast and arrested three suspects.Israel also pointed a finger at Syria for the attack. Sharon said leaders of the Islamic Jihad faction in Syria had ordered the bombing. Boim said it was ‘‘certainly possible’’ Israel could strike at Syria. But later Vice Premier Shimon Peres signalled Israel was likely to hold its fire with Syria. —Reuters
