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Suicide bomber strikes Israel again

A Palestinian suicide bomber struck outside an Israeli bus station during morning rush hour Sunday, critically wounding two guards and raising tensions following Israel`s eviction of settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. The suicide blast was in a dirt parking lot about 100 yards from the bus station, which was crowded with morning commuters.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack as terrorism and urged Israel to show restraint. It was the first suicide attack since Israel completed the pullout, and Palestinians linked it to Israel`s deadly arrest raid in a West Bank refugee camp last week.

Israeli media reported that the bomber came from the southern Hebron hills, the section of the West Bank across from Beersheba. After a double suicide bombing killed 16 in the city a year ago, work on a separation barrier along the West Bank in that area was to be speeded up, but the line there remains largely unfortified.

The bomber was carrying a heavy bag instead of wearing a vest filled with explosives as most previous suicide attackers have. Witnesses said two security guards halted the bomber, preventing a much larger attack. The guards were critically injured.