Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas started truce talks with Islamic militants in Gaza, a crucial test of his tenure of less than a week, but a Hamas suicide bombing that killed an Israeli security agent cast a cloud over his prospects. 

Abbas had meetings in secret locations late Tuesday with leaders of the two Islamic groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Palestinian officials said, after calling his security advisers and commanders into an emergency meeting following the bombing.

After nightfall on Tuesday, a suicide bomber in a car approached an Israeli checkpoint at a busy southern Gaza intersection, where a main Palestinian highway crosses an access road to a bloc of Jewish settlements.

A statement from the Shin Bet security agency said agents stopped the bomber at the junction and took him into an inspection room where he detonated an explosive device hidden in his underwear, killing an agent.

The military said seven Israelis were wounded four soldiers and three other agents.

This was the first Shin Bet agent killed in action since the start of the latest round of violence in September 2000, the agency said in a statement.

Hamas claimed responsibility in an electronic message sent to the Associated Press, identifying the bomber as Omar Tabach, 21, from a village near the intersection.

It was the first suicide bombing since November 1, when a bomber killed three Israelis in a Tel Aviv market. Attackers at a Gaza border crossing killed six Israelis last week.

Sharon aide David Baker said the Tuesday bombing showed "Palestinian terror is increasing." He said Israel has showed restraint, but "no country in the world would allow its citizens to be bombed on a daily basis."

The bombing underlined the difficulties facing Abbas, who is determined to negotiate a truce, refusing to use force against the militants.

Masked members of the two Islamic groups went before TV cameras on Tuesday to insist they would not lay down their arms.

After their meeting, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zukhri said a ceasefire was discussed, but he indicated no agreement.

Abbas got a boost from a violent West Bank group linked to his Fatah Party on Tuesday. Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades leader Zachariya Zubeidi said his militants would stop attacks in Israel as a gesture to Abbas.

While granting Abbas some leeway, Israel is demanding that he put a stop to Palestinian violence, threatening a large-scale raid into Gaza if he fails.

Israeli operation

On Wednesday, Israel began its largest operation in weeks.

At least four Israeli tanks and dozens of military vehicles entered the West Bank city of Nablus, arresting 13 wanted Palestinians, witnesses said.

The army confirmed the arrest of 13 suspected militants in the operation that ended before dawn yesterday.

Palestinians said the arrested included a senior member of the Hamas militant group, an injured man and a woman. Another man was lightly injured by Israeli fire.

Residents of the West Bank's largest city heard explosions and exchanges of fire throughout the night as the operation continued.

Several residents were unable to return to their homes in two neighborhoods as troops imposed a curfew there, the residents said.

(China Daily January 20, 2005)