GAZA CITY -- A Palestinian official on Friday hit back at Ariel Sharon, accusing him and his government of being war criminals, following the Israeli prime minister's speech describing the Palestinian Authority as a "gang of corrupt assassins".

"Sharon's declarations are suitable to most Israeli officials who are war criminals and who must face international justice and be tried for the crimes they perpetrated against our people," Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat's advisor, Nabil abu Rudeina, told AFP.

"These declarations hamper international efforts to come back to the political process," he added, as a Palestinian delegation was in the United States for a second-day of high level talks with U.S. officials.

"To launch a real political process that could lead to peace, there is an obstacle with the gang of corrupt assassins and terrorists that lead the Palestinian Authority," Sharon said Thursday night in a televised speech.

The speech "showed Sharon's and his government's true intentions, the same intentions that led to the failure of recent meetings and especially the security meeting that took place Wednesday night," Abu Rudeina also said.

He was referring to the failure of a second round of talks on an Israeli proposal for a phased withdrawal from reoccupied areas of the Gaza Strip in exchange for a crackdown on Palestinian militants there.