Britain has called for "visionary leadership" following the release of the Middle East road map.

Foreign secretary Jack Straw called on the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to show "courageous statesmanship" to find a solution.

The moment when America handed over its plan for peace in the Middle East to Israel and the Palestinians was marred with a suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv cafe by a Palestinian which killed at least three people.

The foreign secretary described the atrocity, which has been claimed by Hamas and an off-shoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah organisation, as a "totally unjustified attack".

Straw said the road map, which is now being considered by Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas, offered a chance for both sides to build their way out of a vortex of violence.

"A significant step forward has been taken towards building a just and lasting peace for Israeli and Palestinian peoples," he said.

He also had no doubts over the US commitment to the peace process and warned that both sides would have to make concessions.

"As we have seen in Northern Ireland, and as people are seeing in Sri Lanka today, compromises are necessary to achieve peace but by God when you get to a peaceful and virtuous conclusion it's better for everyone."