MIDDLE EAST Suicide bomber kills four Israelis

An Israeli official blamed Yasser Arafat for the attack.
JERUSALEM (AP) -- A suicide bomber killed four Israelis at a bus stop near Tel Aviv minutes after Israel killed an Islamic Jihad commander and four others in a helicopter missile attack in Gaza.
The attacks Thursday ended a lull in violence that lasted more than two months, and Palestinian militants threatened to retaliate, jeopardizing efforts to revive the peace process.
Palestinian officials condemned Thursday's attacks and called for renewed peace talks. Israeli leaders said the suicide bombing proved why such airstrikes were needed and pledged to continue fighting militants. The United States has criticized the airstrikes in populated areas.
The bomber approach the bus stop outside Tel Aviv during evening rush hour and blew himself up, killing two women and a man, police said. Another woman died later in a hospital. At least 13 people were wounded.
Responsibility
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical member of the PLO, claimed responsibility in a call to The Associated Press, saying the attack was in retaliation for the killing of two of its members last week. The group identified the bomber as Said Hanani, 18, from the village of Beit Furik, east of the West Bank city of Nablus.
Israeli forces entered Beit Furik early today and blew up Hanani's house. The army often destroys the homes of militants in hopes of deterring Palestinians from attacking Israelis.
Israeli Health Minister Dan Naveh blamed Yasser Arafat for the suicide bombing and pushed for Israel to expel the Palestinian leader. Several months ago, Israel's Cabinet declared Arafat an obstacle to peace that must be removed, but intense U.S. pressure prevented an Israeli move against him.
It was the first suicide attack on civilians since an Islamic Jihad bomber blew herself up Oct. 4 at a restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, killing 21 people.
Missile attack
A few minutes earlier, Israeli helicopters fired two missiles at a car driving between Gaza City and the nearby Jebaliya refugee camp, killing the top Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, Mekled Hameid, and four others -- two Islamic Jihad militants and two bystanders, militants said. Hospital officials said 14 people were wounded, three seriously.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Hameid was targeted because he was planning a "mega-terror attack in the Gaza Strip." Mofaz did not elaborate. Israeli military sources said the attack was to be inside Israel.
The last such strike was Oct. 20, when an Israeli helicopter launched missiles at a car in the Nusseirat refugee camp in Gaza, killing 14 people, most of them bystanders. In that raid, the Israelis were chasing Palestinians who had tried to get into Israel, according to the military.
At Gaza's Shifa Hospital, where the wounded were taken, masked Islamic Jihad militants promised "a severe retaliation" inside Israel.
On Wednesday, a two-day military operation in Gaza's Rafah refugee camp ended, leaving nine Palestinians dead and leading the Palestinians to cancel a preparatory meeting for a planned summit between the two sides' prime ministers.
The meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia was intended to reinvigorate the U.S.-backed road map peace plan, which envisions an end to three years of violence that has killed more than 2,600 Palestinians and about 900 Israelis.