JERUSALEM, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Sunday that Israel was in the midst of a "growing terror wave", Jerusalem Post reported.

    Mofaz told the cabinet that the recent terror attack in Tel Aviv as well as the thwarted attacks indicated that Israel was currently in the midst of a "growing terror wave."

    The minister was quoted as saying that there were currently some 70 warnings of terrorist attacks, of which 15 were "localized alerts."

    Israeli security forces have had a number of successes, said Mofaz, adding that 10 suicide attacks have been thwarted and more than 160 terrorist suspects have been arrested since the beginning of the year.

    Israel holds the Hamas-led cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) responsible for the terrorist attacks and the overall deterioration in the security situation, Mofaz added.

    On April 17, a suicide bombing attack killed nine people and wounded another 40 near the old central bus station in southern Tel Aviv. The Islamic Jihad (holy war) and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed ring of Fatah, claimed responsibility for the attack.

    Hamas failed to condemn the attack, saying it was an act of self-defense against the Israeli aggression.

    Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also briefed the cabinet, saying that international community remained committed to the three conditions it has set for granting the Hamas-led government legitimacy: recognizing Israel, renouncing violence and accepting previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

    Livni said that the Hamas decision to appoint Jamal Abu Samhadanah, a top wanted militant who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 2004, as head of a new security force had further eroded the PNA's position in international community.

    Hamas announced last Thursday that it was forming an executive security force to help end chaos in the Palestinian territories. PNA chairman Mahmoud Abbas vetoed this decision, saying that establishment of a new security force was "illegal and unconstitutional." Enditem