Suicide Bomber Kills 3 In Israel

"Instead of fighting them in Israel, he is embracing them in Damascus," said Gideon Meir, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official.

Meir said he did not believe the attack would derail Sharon's plan to evacuate 21 Gaza settlements and four others in the northern West Bank, a process known as disengagement. He said when Sharon says "there will not be disengagement under fire, he means we will not stop disengagement. We will stop the fire."

While Hamas has been moving into mainstream Palestinian politics, the smaller Islamic Jihad has remained outside of the process begun by the 1993 Oslo accords. With roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad refuses to recognize Israel and receives much of its financing and direction from Iran, according to Israeli officials.

Israeli and Palestinian officials say the group is seeking to disrupt the Gaza evacuation.

Islamic Jihad gunmen have attacked West Bank settlers and Gaza soldiers in recent weeks. Israeli forces have arrested more than 300 of the group's members and killed one of its leaders near the city of Jenin. The Reuters news agency reported that Khalil, the bomber, said in a videotaped farewell that he was carrying out the attack because of Israeli violations of the cease-fire.

Speaking to reporters, Abbas called the bombing "a terrorist attack because it is a crime against the Palestinian people." He added: "They are operating against the interests of the Palestinians. No one with any sense in his mind could be behind an act like this just before the Israeli withdrawal."

Special correspondents Samuel Sockol and Hillary Claussen contributed to this report.