"Israel sees the Palestinian Authority as responsible for what happened
yesterday," said Gideon Meir, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official.
Israeli security chiefs also proposed tightening travel restrictions,
including making it harder for Palestinians to move within the West Bank and
extending a blanket closure of the West Bank and Gaza. The bomber came from the
northern West Bank, and the military planned to step up raids in that area. The
army also proposed intensifying targeted killings of Islamic Jihad activists.
In an initial response, Israeli aircraft attacked an empty workshop in Gaza
City early Tuesday, causing no injuries. The army said the workshop was used by
the Popular Resistance Committees militant group to make rockets for using
against Israel.
Monday's bombing was the first since Hamas came to power at the end of March.
Hamas officials have defended the blast as a justified response to Israeli
military strikes against the Palestinians. Hamas, which has carried out scores
of suicide bombings in Israel since the early 1990s, has largely observed a
truce since last year, but refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel.
Hamas officials also have said they would not try to stop or arrest members of
other militant groups trying to carry out attacks.
Atef Adwan, a Hamas Cabinet minister, on Tuesday dismissed Israel's claim
that the Palestinian Authority is ultimately responsible for the attack. "Israel
is trying to find a pretext to act against the Palestinian institutions and act
against the Palestinian people," he said.
A confrontation between Israel and Hamas could endanger Hamas' efforts to
secure desperately needed international aid and acceptance. Hamas is broke and
has been unable to cover the large public payroll, despite aid pledges of $50
million each by Iran and Qatar in recent days.
"Defense or sponsorship of terrorist acts by officials of the Palestinian
Cabinet will have the gravest effects on relations between the Palestinian
Authority and all states seeking peace in the Middle East," White House press
secretary Scott McClellan said.
Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the bombing and said
it harmed the Palestinians' national interest. However, the Palestinian U.N.
observer, Riyad Mansour, who is close to Abbas, noted that Israeli military
strikes in Gaza earlier this month also killed 19 Palestinians, including two
children.
The bomber struck during Monday's lunch hour at "The Mayor's Felafel" in a
busy neighborhood near Tel Aviv's central bus station. The restaurant, which had
been the target of a January bombing, was packed with Israelis on vacation
during the weeklong Passover holiday.
A guard outside was checking the bomber's bag when the bomb exploded, police
and witnesses said.