Bus station bomber injures two guards

A SUICIDE bomber blew himself up outside an Israeli bus station during morning rush hour yesterday.

Two security guards were critically wounded in the first attack since Israel began withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. The attack in Beersheba raised pressure on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to crack down on militant groups.

Israel says any progress in peacemaking after the Gaza withdrawal needs Mr Abbas to disarm the militants - a step he has been unwilling to take.

Mr Abbas denounced the bombing as a "terror attack," and called on Israel to show restraint and respect a shaky six-month cease-fire. "We condemn such attacks. We don't accept them, and we call on everyone to refrain from retaliation."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. All major Palestinian militant groups had threatened to avenge an Israeli raid in the West Bank last week that killed five Palestinians. Mr Abbas suggested the raid had provoked the attack.

Israel forcibly removed the last of 8,500 Jewish settlers from Gaza last week, and is expected to complete the pullout in October.

Pushing forward with the withdrawal, Israel's Cabinet agreed to allow Egypt deploy 750 troops along the Gaza-Egypt border to prevent weapons smuggling into the territory.

This will allow Israel withdraw its troops from a security strip on the border, a key step in the pullout.

Israel also began exhuming 48 bodies buried in the Jewish cemetery in Gaza for reburial inside Israel. These are expected to be finished by the end of the week.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hopes the pullout will lead to a resumption of peace talks, frozen for more than two years, but the bombing yesterday cast doubt on that possibility.

An official in Mr Sharon's office, David Baker, said: "Israel has taken the necessary steps to further the prospects of peace with the Palestinians. This bombing... is another indication the Palestinian Authority must take proper steps against terror, and without these, there will be no progress."

The attack occurred in a carpark 100 yards from the bus station, crowded with morning rush-hour travellers. Two security guards halted the bomber, preventing a much larger attack. The guards received burns and shrapnel wounds.

Taxi driver Itzik Ohana said he was waiting for customers in the lot when he saw the bomber, a man about 20 with short hair, dragging a heavy bag and sweating. The man frequently stopped to put the bag down and rest.

Israeli authorities suspected the attacker came from the Hebron area in the southern West Bank.