New Delhi: Concerned over the explosion near an Israeli Army base near a Tel Aviv suburb, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on September 9 night came out strongly against the terror strike saying his country was determined to fight the scourge.

Sharon made a reference to the suicide bomb attack that killed at least seven people during his speech at the banquet hosted in his honour by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Sharon said India too was fighting the menace of terror for several years.

Stressing that there had to be "full cessation of terror", he said "in our area we want peace".

Referring to bilateral ties with India, Sharon expressed confidence that it would move forward in many areas.

He spoke on the need for new areas of co-operation including in the agriculture sector, farm research, science, public health, IT, telecommunication and co-operation in space.

Israel has blamed Palestinian Authority and the Hamas militant group for the suicide bomb attack.

PTI