MR Yasser Arafat's statement, following the latest Hamas bombing in Jerusalem, was angry, unequivocal and sounded heartfelt. For the second Sunday morning in succession, the Palestinian leader had to condemn an act of terrorism he knew was directed at Israel, but also designed to undermine his authority and credibility.
"It is not against Israelis only", he barked, head bowed. "It is against the Palestinians, the Israelis and the peace process.
The Palestinian leader went on to comply with one of Israel's most urgent requests in the wake of yet another suicide bombing: he outlawed all armed militia groups operating in the areas under his control, including the Hamas military wing and his own Fatah Hawks.
Mr Arafat has every reason to be furious with the Hamas militants, and no reason to use restraint in confronting them: he knows they are determined to bury the peace process, and preferably bury him at the same time.
But while the Hamas armed cells - the al Qassam Brigades and their latest offshoot, the Disciples of Yihya Ayash - number just a handful of members, or at most a few dozen, Mr Arafat knows full well that the overall Hamas political, social and religious movement enjoys the support of tens if not hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
So, while Israel accuses him of seeking the impossible to attain peaceful co existence with out confronting the radicals bent on destroying that peace Mr Arafat knows that to follow Mr Peres's example and declare all out war on Hamas would be to invite intolerable internal conflict, a Palestinian civil war.
Even as the peace process crumbles around him, it is hard to see a way out of this dilemma for Mr Arafat. And to make matters worse, he feels strongly, aides say, that many of the accusations of failure levelled against him by the Israelis are simply unfair.
How could Israeli security has been so poor as to allow a bomber to strike on the route, at the same time, as his Hamas predecessor of just one week ago? And why is Israel determined to place all the blame on his shoulders, when the last three suicide bombers have all set off from the Hebron area where, Israel, not the Palestinian Authority, exercises control?
While Mr Arafat looks for room to manoeuvre, the Hamas hard core is euphoric. The hated peace process, progressing so smoothly in recent times, is now in tatters.
Israelis are in a state of panic. The bombers can issue ultimatums at will - offering a week's cessation of violence, as they did last Thursday only to break their own ceasefire, stage another attack, and offer another cessation, as they did yesterday.
While the hard core celebrated, it was hard to find any ordinary Palestinians yesterday who saw anything to cheer. The latest bombing means there is no prospect for the 60,000 Palestinians who work in Israel returning to their jobs soon, if at all. The anticipated Israeli pullout from Hebron is now on indefinite hold.
Was it really only six weeks ago that the Palestinians held their elections, and a new era of peace seemed about to dawn?