Explosions rock Israeli town

Police search the scene of the blast for clues

Reports from Israel say at least 20 people have been injured in a series of explosions in the central coastal town of Netanya, about 30km north of Tel Aviv.

The Israeli army say it was a car bomb attack.

People are hysterical, people are crying, there is black smoke everywhere

Witness

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has summoned a meeting of his security cabinet. There are also reports that the Israeli army has closed the international Palestinian airport in Gaza.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is flying to Washington on Monday night to discuss US proposals for a peace agreement with Israel.

He will meet US President Bill Clinton on Tuesday, according to Palestinian sources.

'Hysteria'

Three explosions in quick succession smashed shop windows in a main street of Netanya as people were returning home from work.

"People are hysterical, people are crying, there is black smoke everywhere," a witness said to Israeli radio.

The explosions appear to have been triggered by a booby-trapped car parked near a bus stop.

Police, firefighters and ambulances arrived at the scene shortly after the blast.

Deputy Police Chief Danny Ronen remarked that given the timing of the blast it was a miracle that no-one had been killed.

Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo condemned the attack.

Injured suspect

There is no indication yet as to who carried out the attack, but police believe the man most seriously injured in the blast may be one of the people behind the attack.

According to some reports, a car was seen speeding away from the area moments before the attack. One unconfirmed account said a police helicopter was attempting to track the vehicle.

Militant Palestinian groups have carried out a number of bomb attacks within Israel since the recent violence - which has claimed more than 350 lives - began in late September.

Last Thursday 13 people were injured in Tel Aviv in a bomb attack on a bus.

Earlier on Monday it was reported that two Palestinian policemen were killed overnight in a gun battle with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Tulkarem.

Another Palestinian man was killed in what the Palestinians say was a revenge attack by the settlers, and a 12-year-old boy died of injuries he received at the weekend.

Arafat defiant

Speaking on his return from talks in Egypt with President Mubarak, Yasser Arafat said the Palestinians would continue resisting what he called Israeli aggression.

Feelings ran high at the funeral orf Binyamin Kahane

Thousands of his supporters in the Fatah movement - the dominant group in the Palestine Liberation Organisation - demonstrated in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to mark the 36th anniversary of its founding.

In further tension, Jewish settlers blocked the entrances to several Palestinian towns in the West Bank demanding extra security following the killing on Sunday of a Jewish hard-liner, Binyamin Zeev Kahane, and his wife.