Palestinian blows himself up after police challenge

A PALESTINIAN blew himself up after police challenged him at a bus stop in northern Israel during evening rush hour yesterday. One policeman was killed and two people were wounded.

The bombing, the first suicide attack in six weeks, came in a new burst of violence a day after Israel turned down a Palestinian offer to halt attacks on civilians in Israel as the first stage of a gradual truce.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast near the Israeli Arab town of Umm el-Fahm. Mahmoud Zahar, a spokesman for the Islamic militant group Hamas, welcomed the attack, saying that “the Palestinians have every right to fight against the occupation”.