"I believe it is too soon to read the last rites of the process. But, having said that, any advance on our part in this process will not be at the expense of the security of the citizens of Israel," he told Israeli public television.

He said new Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, and the security forces under his authority must "show firmness against terrorism to give the process a chance".

A suicide bombing on Monday, for which the Palestinian radical group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, killed three people apart from the bomber in the northern Israeli town of Afula.

Four earlier suicide attacks, claimed by another Islamic group, Hamas, cost the lives of nine other victims.

The attacks came as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met Abu Mazen on Saturday to discuss the roadmap for peace drawn up by the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia.

WAR.WIRE