The United States and senior European Union and United Nations officials demanded that the Palestinians do more to crack down on violent militants.

But extreme fundamentalist congregations in Vénissieux and other working-class suburbs east of Lyon, France's second-largest urban center, have produced violent militants in the past.

Pakistan, he said, was seen as helping to spread nuclear weapons, and as a recruiting ground for violent Islamic militants.

United States officials say payments to families of violent militants constitute direct support for their cause and encourage others to join.

The Wye agreement calls for an Israeli troop withdrawal from 13 percent more of the West Bank in exchange for specific Palestinian measures against violent militants.

But while the attacks were the first against foreign tourists since January, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said he did not believe they reflected a change in strategy by violent Islamic militants.

He has said repeatedly that he was only involved in raising money for Hamas charitable activities and had nothing to do with the violent militants who have carried out attacks against Israel.

Nor did Israeli and American officials show much interest in Palestinian democracy as long as Mr. Arafat seemed to be cracking down on the most violent Palestinian militants.

At the same time, there has been a steady erosion here of support for violent militants like the Irish Republican Army.

Many people reject the notion that any or part of the money donated to the settlements by Americans helps finance violent militants in the West Bank.