Heated Words In Mideast

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accused the Palestinian premier of heading a "government of murder and lies" that is incapable of negotiating a peace deal with Israel, according to an interview published Tuesday.

The harsh criticism appeared to set the stage for Sharon to push forward with his plan to dismantle some settlements and impose a boundary on the Palestinians if peace efforts prove fruitless in the coming months.

The harsh criticism follows Sunday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed eight Israelis, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger.

Sharon said Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's condemnation of the attack was not strong enough.

Qureia, also known as Abu Ala, had criticized the bombing, "especially its timing and place," saying it hurt efforts to persuade the world court at The Hague to rule against the separation barrier Israel is building in the West Bank.

Jordan, meanwhile, led a continuing attack on Israel's separation barrier at the world court on Tuesday, warning that the structure threatens the future stability of the kingdom.

With a parade of speakers denouncing Israel's actions in the West Bank, it appears the case could have implications for Israel's other occupational policies — including settlements.

Israel, which says the barrier is meant for self defense, declined to participate in the three-day hearing this week. It said sending the dispute to the court undermines peace negotiations, and also questioned the fairness of the court.

"It is not the killers and their dispatchers who are put on trial, it is the victims," said Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We shouldn't be in the Hague on trial. It's the Palestinian terror regimes and terror organizations who should be there."

The United States and European nations have also avoided the hearings.

On Tuesday, soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets, injuring seven Palestinians, during clashes with protesters near two sections of the barrier under construction, local officials said.

The Palestinians "expressed regret about the timing of the (bus) attack because it could hurt them at The Hague," Sharon was quoting as telling the Yediot Ahronot daily. "The government of Abu Ala is a government of murder and lies. With such a government it is impossible to reach any agreement."

Qureia said Sharon's remarks were "unacceptable talk."

"Maybe he said that in a nervous moment," Qureia added.

Sharon's comments come amid stalled efforts to restart the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan that calls for an immediate end to the more than three years of violence and the creation of a Palestinian state by next year.

Attempts to set up an initial summit between Sharon and Qureia, who took office in November, have stalled, with Israel on Monday canceling a planned preparatory meeting between the two leaders' top aides.

Qureia says he will agree to a summit only if he is assured results, such as an easing of restrictions on Palestinians. "We want this meeting to be held when it can be useful," he said.

Israel says a summit must focus on what Palestinians will do to stop attacks and dismantle militant groups.

Israel says that the Palestinians' unwillingness to dismantle militant groups, as called for in the road map, forced it to build the barrier. Both sides have failed to fulfill their obligations under the peace plan.

The barrier, a snaking web of walls, razor wire, patrol roads, watchtowers and electric fences, is about one-fourth completed and will eventually stretch 450 miles according to current plans.

Brig. Gen. Eran Ofir, the army's logistics chief, told military reporters Tuesday another 125 miles of fence, including a section around Jerusalem, will be completed by the end of the year.

Palestinians say the barrier, which would dip deep into the West Bank, is an Israeli effort to take land they want for a Palestinian state. The sections already built make it hard for thousands to reach jobs, schools, farmland and hospitals.

Meanwhile, Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim was creating a furor with what some say are racist comments about Palestinians.

"What is it with Islam in general and the Palestinians in particular? Is it some sort of cultural deficiency? Is it a genetic defect? There is something incomprehensible in their continuing murderous behavior," Boim said in remarks broadcast by Army radio.

His spokesman said those were rhetorical comments, taken out of context.

Members of the Knesset (parliament) on both sides of the aisle, both Jews and Palestinians, condemned the remarks.

Also Tuesday, Sharon assured an Israeli Arab audience that he is not proposing to swap some Israeli Arab towns for parts of the West Bank in a future peace deal with the Palestinians. Israeli media had quoted Sharon aides as saying last month that such a swap was one of several ideas raised as part of Sharon's disengagement plan.

"The Arab population must see itself as an integral part of the population of Israel, and all kinds of separation ideas must be cut off at the root," Sharon said during a tour of the Arab town of Kfar Kassem. "Here, we have to live together."

Scores of Palestinians in two villages near the West Bank city of Ramallah tried to march Tuesday to areas where the barrier was under construction.

In Beit Sira, troops blocked their way, teenagers threw stones and soldiers responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, residents and the army said. Sporadic clashes continued in the area for hours. Palestinians said seven protesters were injured, including three who were hospitalized after being hit in the head by rubber-coated steel pellets. The army said it did not know of any injuries.

In Beit Surik, several Palestinian men sat in the road trying to block bulldozers from grading the area where the barrier is to be built. Troops swinging clubs removed them. Several Palestinians later threw stones at the workers and troops.