Bush urges Abbas to show 'political courage'

President George W. Bush stepped up pressure on the Palestinians one day after a suicide bomb attack, urging Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday to show the courage to crack down on terrorism.

Mr Bush praised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's for pulling Jewish settlers out of Gaza, saying this was a first step toward creating a democracy for Palestinians.

"It took political courage to make that decision," Mr Bush said during a speech in El Mirage, Arizona.

"And now it's going to take political courage by the Palestinians and... Abbas to step up, reject violence, reject terrorism and build a democracy," he added.

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up and critically wounded two guards at an Israeli bus station on Sunday in the first such attack since the eviction of Jewish settlers from Gaza and part of the West Bank.

The militant groups Islamic Jihad and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, said they carried out the attack in response to Israel's killing of five Palestinian gunmen three days ago.

Mr Abbas condemned the suicide bombing, calling it "a terrorist attack" in a statement issued by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.