World Notes MIDDLE EAST

In the blood-spattered politics of the Middle East, the softest target for terrorists is often the fragile peace process. Last week's brutal gun-and- grenade attack on an excursion bus in Egypt killed nine Israeli tourists but also claimed a tenth victim: a hoped-for meeting between U.S., Egyptian and Israeli officials to try to get stalled talks moving again. The prospect of an imminent get-together was dashed by the raid, which also left 20 Israelis injured.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir promised in a phone call that they would not allow the attack to threaten Israeli-Egyptian relations. But it could strengthen the hand of Israeli hard- liners at this week's crucial meeting of the Likud bloc's Central Committee. Industry and Trade Minister Ariel Sharon says the bus tragedy is proof that the Arabs want blood, not peace. He plans to load more amendments onto Shamir's already heavily encumbered plan for Palestinian elections.

Meanwhile, Egyptian police have made the bus killings their top priority. Evidence suggests the culprits were rejectionist Palestinian commandos rather than Egyptian fundamentalists, as was originally suspected.