Mideast peace now on the map

JERUSALEM -- International mediators presented a long-awaited Mideast peace plan today, just hours after Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was sworn in and a suicide attacker linked to Abbas' political party killed three bystanders at a Tel Aviv bar.

The violence posed an immediate challenge to Abbas, who has vowed to crack down on militia groups operating outside the law.

Formally setting in motion the new peace initiative, U.S. Ambassador Dan Kurtzer delivered the plan to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at Sharon's home, Israeli diplomatic sources said.

The so-called "road map" plan was presented to Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah later Wednesday by Terje Larsen, the United Nations envoy to the Middle East.

The Palestinian prime minister will be invited to the White House to meet with President Bush, spokesman Ari Fleischer said without specifying when.

The peace plan was drafted by the so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators: the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia.

It calls for an immediate cease-fire, a crackdown on Palestinian militias, an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian towns and the dismantling of Jewish settlements erected since 2001. A Palestinian state with provisional borders could be established by year's end, with full statehood possible within three years, according to the timetable.

Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen, was sworn in today -- a day after the Palestinian legislature approved his Cabinet -- at the West Bank headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Before his inauguration, he spoke out against the bombing, saying, "We condemn this attack strongly."

A spokesman for the Fatah-linked militia, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, told The Associated Press the bombing was a message to the new prime minister that "nobody can disarm the resistance movements without a political solution." The Islamic militant group Hamas also claimed responsibility.

Israeli Cabinet Minister Dan Naveh said the bombing indicated that "there are still many factions within the PLO and the Fatah that are interested in continuing the attacks.

"As long as Abu Mazen is in his position but Arafat continues to go behind his back and encourages the terror, we will not see a change," Naveh told Israel Radio.

The bomber struck on Tel Aviv's seaside promenade at about 1 a.m., blowing himself up outside Mike's Place, a pub and restaurant popular with foreigners and just a few yards from the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy.

A security guard stopped the bomber at the entrance to the crowded pub. The bomber died and the guard was badly wounded.

The pub's owner, Gal Ganzman, his shirt covered with blood, said he was standing behind the bar when he heard the explosion. "I'm alive, I'm fine," he said. "One of the waitresses lost an arm but she's still alive."

Police said the waitress, a French citizen, died later at a hospital, one of three bystanders killed.

Fifty-five people were wounded, police and hospital officials said. Twenty people remained hospitalized later Wednesday, including six listed in serious condition.

It was the 89th suicide bombing targeting Israelis in the past 31 months. Since September 2000, 2,287 people have been killed on the Palestinian side, and 763 people on the Israeli side.

In other violence Wednesday, Israeli troops shot and killed an unarmed Palestinian near the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. The army said it fired on the Palestinian after spotting someone crawling near an army post in an area off limits to Palestinians. The man was not identified.

Late Tuesday, two armed Palestinians were shot dead by settlers after they opened fire on a small Israeli outpost near the West Bank settlement of Elon Moreh.

Abbas' swearing-in ceremony at Arafat's compound underscored Arafat's continuing influence despite U.S. and Israeli efforts to sideline him. In a reminder of that power, Arafat's office announced Wednesday it was naming Saeb Erekat as head of the negotiation department for the PLO, a position formerly held by Abbas.

The United States and Israel have been boycotting Arafat, whom they accuse of abetting terrorism, and have welcomed the appointment of Abbas.

Tuesday's 51-18 parliament vote in favor of Abbas's Cabinet, with three abstentions, capped some six weeks of wrangling during which Arafat objected to key Abbas appointments. A last-minute compromise granted key positions to several Arafat confidants.

Abbas' balancing act will include cracking down on militants without triggering civil war, easing powers away from Arafat without being accused of betraying a national symbol, and re-establishing trust with Israel without abandoning bedrock positions.

In a speech to legislators, Abbas said the Palestinians accepted the "road map" as is.

Israel says Palestinians must stop all violence before it makes any peace moves. It also has asked for more than a dozen changes in the road map, including making a Palestinian crackdown on terror groups the condition for any progress, and for a Palestinian recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.

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