Bomb kills 4 in Israeli resort

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A bombing in Israel's coastal city of Netanya left four dead Sunday, including the suspected perpetrator.

Police said the bomber unsuccessfully tried to board a bus, then blew himself up as he mingled with a crowd crossing an intersection in one of the busiest parts of the resort city.

It was the latest incident in the bloodiest weekend in two months in Israel and the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli-Palestinian clashes, which have been going on for more than five months, are spilling more and more into Israeli cities.

In response to the bombing, angry Israelis turned on a group of Palestinian workers, beating one severely. The man was reported in critical condition Sunday evening.

AUDIO CNN's Jerrold Kessel: This is perhaps the bloodiest weekend in the ongoing conflict 1 Mb/94 secs. AIFF or WAV sound    RESOURCES Mideast Peace    TIMELINES Recent acts of violence in the Middle East:  • Bombings  • Activist deaths

Israeli Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami condemned the reaction, telling Israel Radio: "We must not become a lynching society."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's attack in Netanya. It came a day after the military wing of the radical Islamic group Hamas said it had 10 suicide bombers poised to strike into Israel in order to undermine the incoming government of Ariel Sharon, Israel's hard-line prime minister-elect.

At least five Palestinians also have been killed since Friday -- including a 9-year-old boy killed by Israeli troops, who said they were shooting back at Palestinian gunmen who fired on an Israeli settlement.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Mahmoud Zahar said he did not know who had carried out Sunday's bombing, but he added, "Resistance will continue until we push the occupiers out of our land."

Sharon came to power promising to restore Israelis' sense of security. His government could take office as soon as this week, replacing Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials said the government could adopt a more vigorous approach to stopping the violence.

"Preventative actions are not enough and defensive actions are not enough," Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said. "We will have to enhance our defensive activity, namely, pinpoint operations against those who mastermind, prepare and organize the terror operations."

Netanya was the scene of a January 1 bombing that injured more than three dozen Israelis. Hamas claimed responsibility for that attack.

In addition, one Israeli was killed Thursday and nine people were wounded when a Palestinian militant set off a bomb inside a taxi in northern Israel.

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