Sharon heads home after suicide bomb

Prime minister Ariel Sharon was today on his way back to Israel after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a pool hall packed with teenagers, killing himself and 15 others.

The force of yesterday’s blast blew out the front of the third-floor club in a business district of Rishon Letzion, a city 10 miles south of Tel Aviv, collapsing the ceiling and sending glass and rubble flying into the street below.

An eyewitness, who refused to give his name, told Israel Radio that his wife saw the bomber, who was carrying a suitcase, enter the pool hall and set off the explosives.

Sharon cut short his visit to the US soon after receiving news of the atrocity and at a news conference before leaving Washington, said he would press ahead with Israel’s fight against terrorism.

‘‘Our work is not done,’’ he declared. ‘‘The battle continues and will continue until all those who believe that they can make gains through the use of terrorism will cease to exist - cease to exist.’’

Israel Radio reported that police believe the bomber came from the Gaza Strip, which has been left out of Israel’s military offensive so far.

Sharon said the attack was ‘‘proof of the true intentions of the person leading the Palestinian Authority,’’ blaming Yasser Arafat without mentioning his name.

Sharon has been trying to persuade the Americans that Arafat should not play a part in peace talks, claiming he is responsible for the violence that has plagued the region for more than 19 months.

The Palestinian Authority issued a strong statement condemning the bombing, which it said only served Israel’s interests.

‘‘The Palestinian leadership will take firm and strict measures against those who are involved in this operation and will not be light-handed in punishing those who have caused great harm to our cause,’’ the statement said.

In a rare choice of words, it referred to bombings as ‘‘terrorist crimes’’.

Jibril Rajoub, Arafat’s security chief in the West Bank, said Israel’s actions against Palestinians were to blame for the bombing attack.

‘‘The Israelis have to understand that ... the language of force cannot break the Palestinian people. There will be no security for the Israelis unless there is peace and security for the Palestinians,’’ he said.

Yesterday’s bloody attack ended a period of three weeks of relative calm, after an April 12 suicide bombing in Jerusalem killed six bystanders and the female bomber.

The downturn in terrorism coincided with the Israeli operation in the West Bank, its biggest thrust there in three decades. Army commanders said their assault prevented many terror strikes, but admitted they could not stop them all.

The last vestige of the operation, a standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, defied resolution, though the outline of a deal has been in place for two days.

Since April 2, Israeli forces have been surrounding the church, since more than 200 people, including about 40 gunmen, fled there as the Israelis invaded Bethlehem.

According to the deal, 13 militants were to be deported to Italy and 26 others would be taken to the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip. The others in the church would be freed.

However, Italian officials said they had not been consulted and were hesitating to take in the 13 Palestinians. Contacts were expected to resume later today.

The explosion in the pool hall happened at 11.03pm (9.03pm Irish time), when the hall was packed with young Israelis out for the evening.

Police said 15 people were killed, besides the bomber, and more than 60 wounded were taken to area hospitals.

Sharon heard about the attack as he was meeting US president George Bush.

He cut short his trip and announced he was returning to Israel, cancelling a day of meetings in New York with Jewish leaders.

Bush’s national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said that Bush ‘‘was able to personally convey his condolences to the prime minister and ... register his disgust with this wanton waste of life’’.