Abbas condemns suicide bombing in southern Israel

Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday evening condemned the suicide bombing in the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat earlier in the day, the Egyptian official news agency MENA reported.

Abbas made the condemnation in a statement issued upon his arrival here on Monday evening, in which he voiced strong opposition not only on Eilat bombing but also on all attacks targeting civilians, no matter Israelis or Palestinians.

On Monday morning, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a local bakery in Eilat, some 350 km south of Jerusalem, killing three local Israelis.

Three Palestinian military groups, the Islamic Jihad (Holy War), the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed wing of Palestinian National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and the previously unknown "Army of Believers" claimed later responsibility for the attack.

It is the first suicide bombing on Israeli soil since last April when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Tel Aviv old bus station, killing 11 people.

Meanwhile, Abbas welcomed a proposal offered by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz to host Palestinian national dialogue aimed at bringing a halt to bloodshed in the Palestinian territories.

Abbas is scheduled to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday morning to discuss ways to stop the ongoing Palestinian infighting, according to an earlier MENA report.

Source: Xinhua