Blast rocks Israeli restaurant

The blast was the second suicide bombing in four days

A Palestinian suicide bomber has blown himself outside a restaurant near the Israeli coastal town of Haifa, killing himself and injuring up to 20 others.

The explosion on the outskirts of Haifa comes after a suicide bombing at a Jerusalem restaurant on Thursday that killed 15 people.

We will exact a price for every attack

Raanan Gissin
Israeli spokesman

The Israeli Government responded to that attack with air strikes on Palestinian targets and by seizing the unofficial Palestinian headquarters in Jerusalem, Orient House.

Speaking after the latest attack, Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minster Ariel Sharon, told the BBC that they would be taking additional measures to stop such bombings.

Youngsters 'targeted'

With sirens wailing, ambulances rushed to the scene of Sunday's blast at the Wall Street Cafe in Kiryat Motzkin, a Haifa suburb.

Witnesses said a man got out of a taxi, walked to the restaurant terrace and detonated the explosives which he was carrying in a bag.

It was not immediately clear who had carried out the blast, but the militant Islamic Jihad group is reported to have claimed responsibility.

The BBC's Paul Wood in Jerusalem says the attack, like Thursday's, appeared targeted at Jewish youngsters.

He says if there had been Israeli loss of life, the pressure on Israeli Prime Ariel Sharon to take the military option against the Palestinians might have proved irresistible.

Diplomacy

In an attempt to stop violence from escalating out of control, a US envoy was meeting both sides on Sunday.

Renewed diplomatic efforts came as the Islamic militant group Hamas - which said it carried out Thursday's attack - announced that Palestinian security forces had arrested four of its members.

Israelis hurt in another suicide bombing

They include the man Israel says sent the suicide bomber on his deadly mission to the Jerusalem pizza restaurant where the bombing took place.

One of Israel's key demands has been that the Palestinian leadership detain militants that Israel blames for attacks on its citizens.

But Israeli spokesman Raanan Gissin said Sunday's bombing showed Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority were not taking the proper action to arrest those responsible.

"Another day, another suicide bombing, " Mr Gissin said in an interview with the BBC.

"We will exact a price for every attack," he warned, adding that Israeli was going to "change the rules of the game" and take additional measures.

Since Thursday, Israel has moved to take over Palestinian installations

Troops stormed the Palestinians' main political foothold in the city, Orient House, as part of retaliation for last Thursday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem in which 15 Israelis were killed.

'Sovereignty'

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on Sunday demanded an end to what a UN statement describes as the Israeli occupation of the building and called for an immediate ceasefire.

But Israel has declared that Orient House will never be handed back.

The country's Security Minister, Uzi Landau, said soldiers occupying it would stay for good, and that Israel was doing no more than asserting its sovereignty.

Israeli security forces are on high alert in and around Jerusalem.

There is vocal opposition to Israel's seizure of Orient House

On Sunday they closed down a Palestinian telecoms centre in Abu Dis near Jerusalem, and police again confronted demonstrators outside Orient House.

Palestinians have called for a "day of rage" on Monday to protest at the Israelis' actions.

Despite international pressure, Israel remains defiant.

"Orient House will not open again - ever," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in an interview with the Yediot Ahronot newspaper published on Sunday.