[dplax]

It unfortunately seems the israelis are feeding the cycle of violence....

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the leader of the militant group Hamas in Gaza, was killed on Saturday in Gaza City when his car exploded, hospital officials said. Also killed were Rantisi's son Mohammed, 20, and a bodyguard, hospital officials said. Rantisi was taken to a hospital, where he died. Immediately after news of the killing swept through the territory, thousands of Hamas activists, in shock and panic, spilled into the streets. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat condemned the killing saying: "We hold the Israeli government fully responsible for the consequences of such actions. "At the end of the day violence will breed more violence, hatred will breed more hatred." Rantisi was appointed to head Hamas in Gaza after Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed last month in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City. It was not clear if Rantisi's car -- which was engulfed in flames -- was attacked by aircraft or had been booby-trapped. A huge explosion was heard in Gaza City and half of the city lost electricity. TV footage showed hospital doctors frantically working on Rantisi. The Israeli army is not commenting on the development. Saeb Erakat, the Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator, issued a statement: "We condemn this Israeli crime and state terrorism and we hold the Israeli government fully responsible for the consequences of the assassination of Rantisi." Suicide attack The move comes hours after a Palestinian suicide bomber launched an attack in the Erez industrial zone Saturday, killing a border police officer and wounding three others. Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Hamas claimed responsibility for that attack. An Al Aqsa spokesman identified the bomber as Fadi al-Amudi of Beit Lahiya, located in northern Gaza near Erez. An Israeli army official said the bomber had worked in the zone for the last two years. He died at the scene. A second attacker, from Hamas, tried but failed to enter the industrial zone, an Al Aqsa source said. The military said it knew nothing about a second bomber. Both groups have conducted previous terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. There is heavy security around the busy industrial area, where the bomber detonated explosives at an entrance where the workers are checked before they can go to their jobs. At least 2,900 entered Erez Saturday. The zone was closed as a result of the bombing, and it is not known when it will reopen. Many Palestinians have jobs there. The attack came three days after President Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Washington. Bush endorsed Sharon's plan to withdraw all Jewish settlements and troops from Gaza and all but six blocs of Jewish settlements from the West Bank. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat on Thursday rejected the plan It was closed for several days in January after a female suicide-bomber killed four Israelis at a checkpoint leading to the Erez industrial zone. Ten people were wounded in the blast.