A Palestinian bomber attacker killed an Israeli storekeeper as well as himself in an attack in northern Israel, dealing a fresh blow to peace efforts, medical sources said. The deadly explosion happened in a grocery store-cum-restaurant near Beit Shean in the northern Jordan valley, killing the owner and badly damaging the premises. "It was a suicide attack, the terrorist blew himself up shortly after entering the shop," regional police chief Yaakov Borowski told public radio. The blast happened as Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas attempts, so far unsuccessfully, to persuade some Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad to adopt a truce in order to ease the path of the international "roadmap" for peace in the Middle East. Army radio said the bomb, hidden in a bag, seemed to have exploded prematurely. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. National police chief Shlomo Aharonishki warned, "We have a quantity of information on attacks being prepared during this period of discussions, and the police and Israeli security forces are exterting maximum effort to prevent these terrorist activities." **Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Attacks*** Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas called separate meetings with leaders of the main Islamic groups in Gaza on Wednesday to persuade them to stop attacking Israelis. In a two-hour meeting with Hamas leaders, Abbas pressed for a halt to all attacks, but Hamas insisted on its right to target Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank, said Hamas official Ismail Abu Shanab. "We are trying to find a solution which is good for all of us," Abu Shanab said. Islamic Jihad leaders started a meeting with Abbas after the Hamas leadership left. Abbas is also proposing a joint political leadership including the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Abu Shanab said. Such a joint leadership would be headed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and operate under the umbrella of the PLO, according to the official Palestine Media Center. Late Tuesday, Palestinian gunmen used a water tunnel to cross a 26-foot-high barrier between the West Bank and a new north-south Israeli highway, the military said. They fired on a car carrying a family of eight, killing 7-year-old Noam Leibowitz. She was buried Wednesday. Two militant groups claimed responsibility - the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, and the smaller Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, speaking to Jewish fund-raisers from abroad on Wednesday evening, said Israel has accepted the road map with reservations, but "moving forward requires a complete cessation of terrorism, violence and incitement." The peace plan, in contrast, calls for parallel steps - easing of Israeli restrictions as the Palestinians move to rein in the militants. In a third day of talks in Gaza, Abbas pressed leaders of militant groups to stop attacks against Israelis. Hamas leaders did not rule out the possibility, reinforcing speculation that an accord might be near. "We are examining the idea," said Abu Shanab. Israel's part of the emerging deal would be a commitment to stop targeted killings of suspected militants, participants said, adding that Israel has not given such an assurance. Last week Israeli helicopters struck three times in Gaza City, targeting Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who was wounded, and commanders and members of the Hamas military wing. Twenty people, most of them bystanders, were killed. Also last week, a Hamas bomb attacker on a Jerusalem bus killed 17 people. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Senior Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab arrives for a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas along with other Palestinian militias Tuesday, June 17, 2003, in Gaza City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)