JERUSALEM: Israel defended itself yesterday against a rare US rebuke for its attempted assassination of a Palestinian militant leader that further undermined a Middle East peace plan.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered aides to hand over intelligence to US officials to back accusations that Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, the public face of the radical Islamic group Hamas, had been co-ordinating attacks on Israelis.

"This information is intended to show that Rantissi was not just a ticking bomb but a factory of ticking bombs," a senior Israeli security source said.

The helicopter missile strike that wounded Rantissi in Gaza on Tuesday drew vows of revenge from Hamas, raising the spectre of a new cycle of bloodshed that could bury a US-backed peace plan aimed at ending 32 months of conflict.

US President George W. Bush expressed concern that the assassination attempt could weaken Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas's attempts to get militant groups to stop violence against Israelis.

"I also don't believe the attacks helped Israeli security," Bush said.

Bush ordered top aides to urgently convey those points to Israeli and Palestinian officials and lean on them to stick to the letter and spirit of the peace plan, which stipulates reciprocal concessions leading to a Palestinian state by 2005.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan yesterday appealed to Palestine and Israel to refrain from taking actions that will further worsen the situation in the Middle East.

Responding to Tuesday's Israeli missile attacks, Kong said that China is seriously concerned about the incident and held that the Israeli action will not conduce to the realization of peace and stability in the region.

China hopes that the two sides will maintain the momentum that has appeared in the Middle East peace process, said Kong.

Agencies via Xinhua

(China Daily 06/12/2003 page1)