Suicide Bombing Kills Two in Northern Israel

A Palestinian bomber blew himself up and killed an Israeli in an assault in northern Israel on Sunday, marking the first suicide attack in the nation in nearly a month and dealing another blow to a tattered truce.

Meanwhile, in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron, a Palestinian was shot to death and three were injured in violence. Palestinians blamed Israeli troops, and Israel said the violence was part of an internal Palestinian dispute. Israeli troops entered a Palestinian-controlled area of the city Friday and have remained since.

Neither Israel nor the Palestinians want to be seen as abandoning the cease-fire, but the truce declared Sept. 26 did not end the violence. More than 30 Palestinians and seven Israelis have been killed since then.

In an apparent effort to keep violence at bay, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Palestinian parliament Speaker Ahmed Korei and Palestinian negotiator and Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat held unscheduled talks in Jerusalem, according to a Palestinian security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He would not elaborate on the nature of the meeting.

In the bombing in northern Israel, a Palestinian approached the Israeli agricultural settlement of Kibbutz Shluhot on foot. When an Israeli in a car drove up to confront the Palestinian, he detonated his bomb, killing them both, Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman said.

Palestinian security sources said the bomber was a 17-year-old high school student, Ahmed Daraghmeh, and a member of the militant movement Islamic Jihad. The group did not comment on the attack.

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat’s Cabinet issued a sharply worded statement Friday telling Palestinian militants that attacks on Israel were undermining the truce and were working against Palestinian interests.

Palestinian security forces said they have detained at least six suspected militants in recent days. Those taken into custody include two activists from Islamic Jihad, detained Sunday in the wake of the suicide bombing.

However, Israel has identified more than 100 suspects it wants arrested, and the actions by the security forces have not halted the attacks.