JERUSALEM – Israel said yesterday that it would increase political pressure on the Palestinian government in response to a suicide bombing Monday, but gave no hint of planning a major military response or singling out members of the Hamas-dominated government for arrest or assassination.
The bombing at a Tel Aviv restaurant killed nine people and further heightened tensions between Israel and Hamas, the radical Islamic movement that assumed control of the Palestinian Authority ministries last month.
Israel's prime minister-designate, Ehud Olmert, huddled with senior aides and top security officials yesterday and chose to emphasize diplomatic and political pressure rather than a large military response, officials said.
The Israeli approach is intended to maintain international support for boycotting the new Palestinian government, which is struggling with a financial crisis and political isolation.
Monday's bombing was carried out by Islamic Jihad, which is not part of the government. But Israel says it considers the government responsible, arguing that it has encouraged attacks and is not trying to stop them.
Hamas and some officials in the Palestinian Authority, which it now controls, described the bombing as a legitimate act of self-defense in response to what it called Israeli aggression.
The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the bombing, as he has done after past attacks. But yesterday, Palestinian militants from several groups, including some linked to Abbas' Fatah movement, demanded that he apologize for his remarks.
Abbas “should have condemned the killings of our people and fighters rather than condemning Palestinian acts of self-defense,” the militants said in a statement read by a masked gunman at a news conference in Gaza City.
Israel did announce one specific punishment, saying three Palestinian parliament members who belong to Hamas and live in east Jerusalem will have their Israeli residency permits revoked. If they lose their permits, they will have to leave East Jerusalem.
“You cannot have all the rights of residency and be supporting terror at the same time,” said Gideon Meir, a senior official in Israel's Foreign Ministry.
