BEERSHEBA, Israel, AP – A Palestinian suicide bombing attack in a southern Israeli city raised tensions as Israel pursued its pullout from Gaza, with Israel demanding tougher action against militants and Palestinians blaming Israel for an escalation in violence.

Two Israeli security guards were critically wounded in the blast outside the central bus station in Beersheba. Their action, keeping the attacker outside the crowded bus station during Sunday morning rush hour, probably prevented him from killing and wounding dozens.

Israeli media said in addition to the two guards, 46 people were treated for shock.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas denounced the bombing as a &#34terror attack&#34 and called on Israel to show restraint. &#34We condemn such attacks. We don”t accept them, and we call on everyone to refrain from retaliation,&#34 he said.

The official WAFA news agency quoted Abbas as linking the bombing to Israel”s arrest raid in the Tulkarem refugee camp last week, killing five Palestinians. Abbas said a February truce must be maintained &#34despite all the Israeli provocations.&#34

Israel demanded action from Abbas.

&#34Israel has taken the necessary steps to further the prospects of peace with the Palestinians,&#34 said David Baker, an official in Sharon”s office. &#34This bombing … is another indication that the Palestinian Authority must take proper steps against terror, and without these steps, there will be no progress between both sides.&#34

Nearly 12 hours after the attack, an Islamic Jihad official claimed responsibility and said the bomber came from Beit Umar, a village near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, but no official announcement was made.

The bomber entered Israel from the southern Hebron hills, the section of the West Bank across from Beersheba. After a double suicide bombing killed 16 in the city a year ago, work on a separation barrier along the West Bank in that area was to be speeded up, but the line there remains largely unfortified.

Taxi driver Itzik Ohana said he was waiting for customers in the lot when he saw a man of about 20 dragging a heavy bag and sweating. The man frequently stopped to put the bag down and rest.

Ohana said he told a security guard about the suspicious-looking man and called the police. &#34While I was talking to the police there was an explosion,&#34 he said. The bomber was killed.

During Sunday”s Cabinet meeting, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said the West Bank is becoming the focus for Israel”s war against militants. He said Israel has made it clear that the Palestinians must fulfill their pledges to act against violent groups.

Despite the bombing, Israel pushed ahead with arrangements to complete its pullout from Gaza.

Israel”s Cabinet approved an agreement with Egypt to post 750 Egyptian border guards along the frontier between Gaza and Egypt. Israel”s parliament votes on the accord on Wednesday.

Israel has been patrolling the border, trying to prevent Palestinians from smuggling weapons and other contraband through tunnels under the border into Gaza. Deployment of the Egyptian force would allow for an Israeli pullout, expected by the end of the year.

The Cabinet vote in favor of the arrangement was 20-2. Besides warning that Palestinians could import long-range weapons that could threaten Israel, critics charge that the deal counters terms of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty demilitarizing Egypt”s Sinai desert.

Also Sunday, Israel began transferring 48 graves from the now-empty Gaza settlement bloc to Israel. All the graves were to be moved by the end of the week, the army said.

&#34This is very difficult for us,&#34 said Rivka Vinter as she escorted the body of her late husband, Nehemia, who drowned in the Mediterranean 10 years ago, to his reburial at a new cemetery the military built in Nitzan, a new community to house some of the settlers evacuated from Gaza.

&#34Suddenly we have a rerun of the funeral. It is surreal and I don”t know how we will get through this,&#34 she told Israel Radio.