| Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie on Wednesday branded suicide attacks an obstacle to peace, in the strongest official Palestinian condemnation of a militant campaign of bombings against Israeli civilians. Addressing parliament on the eve of a new U.S. diplomatic mission to the region, Qurie urged Palestinian restraint following Israel’s March 22 assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, for which militants have vowed bloody revenge. "The resistance of the Palestinian people to Israeli occupation crimes has suffered from attacks that have targeted Israeli civilians," Qurie told lawmakers gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He said such attacks lead to an "accumulation of hatred and loss of confidence between the two peoples and place obstacles in the path of reviving the peace process. We have condemned these attacks which are morally wrong and today from this podium we reiterate our rejection of such attacks, because they harm our national struggle." Palestinian leaders have often condemned suicide bombings during a 3-1/2-year-old uprising, saying such attacks have hurt the Palestinian cause in the eyes of the international community. But Palestinian officials have avoided blaming bombings for derailing the peace process, putting the onus instead on Israel for its military crackdown in Palestinian areas. Opinion polls show strong Palestinian grass-roots support for suicide attacks. |