OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 10 August — A Palestinian man, belonging to the Hamas group, blew himself up killing at least 17 people and wounding about 90 in a Jerusalem restaurant yesterday, Israeli officials said.

The worst blast in more than 10 months ripped the Sbarro pizzeria apart during the lunch hour rush.

 “All the glass blew out — boom. I saw two dead people, one with brains spilling out of his head, another with blood pouring out of his nose,” said 16-year-old Eliezer Vanzoari.

Bodies were left strewn over the pavement. One woman, blood spattering her face and arms, watched the ambulance workers in shock as she dabbed herself with a cloth.

The front of the restaurant was blown out, with its red, green and white signs hanging limply from the front. Shattered glass and twisted metal covered the ground.

The Hamas said in a statement faxed to Reuters that a member of the Hamas military wing blew himself up in the crowded Jerusalem pizzeria to avenge Israel’s killings of Palestinian activists, including two senior Hamas leaders in the West Bank city of Nablus last week.

Hamas identified the activist as Ezzuddin Al-Masri, 23, from a village near the West Bank city of Jenin and attached a photo of the young man holding an M16 assault rifle. “Resistance will continue,” the Hamas statement said.

Earlier, Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for the bombing.

In Gaza City, a Jihad leader said the attack was a justified counterattack against aggressions by Israel, pointing to Israel’s crackdown on the intifada and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s policy of assassinating Palestinians.

“The Jerusalem operation was conducted in reprisal against actions conducted daily by Israel against our people,” Nafez Azzam told reporters.

An official of the Hamas movement said there would be further suicide attacks against Israelis.

“We are expecting an increase in this type of operation,” Abdel Aziz Rantissi, told AFP in response to a question over the suicide bombing.

Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo charged that Sharon’s assassination policy was the cause of yesterday’s bombing.

“We hold Sharon responsible for what happened in occupied Jerusalem. It is he who provoked (the Palestinians) and it is he who so wished.” the minister said.

Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the bombing and called on the Israeli government to issue a joint statement for a comprehensive cease-fire, starting beginning Aug.10, in order to start implementing Mitchell committee recommendations under urgent and immediate international supervision.

Israeli government spokesman Dore Gold put the death toll at 18, including the Hamas activist, and medical officials said about 90 were hurt.

An Israeli official said Tel Aviv would mete out an “adequate response” to the day’s Jerusalem bombing. “There will be a proper and adequate response, proportionate to the event,” said the official, who asked not to be named.

The Israeli Cabinet meeting near Tel Aviv broke up its deliberations after a dispute evolved over measures to be taken by Israel after the attack in Jerusalem.

Israel Radio reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to convene the full quorum of the security Cabinet at 23:30 local time to try to reach a consensus and make important decisions.

Earlier, Israel’s so-called “kitchen Cabinet” gave the green light late yesterday to a “severe armed response” to the deadly Jerusalem bombing, political sources said. They made the decision after studying proposals from the army chiefs of staff, but the move was opposed by the dovish Peres, one of the archictects of the 1993 Oslo peace accords, the sources said.

 In Gaza City, a Palestinian child of 12 was wounded late yesterday by fire from Israeli tanks that invaded an autonomous Palestinian area in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian hospital and security sources said.

In Jerusalen, a 16-year-old Israeli girl was killed and three other passangers in a private Israeli vehicle were wounded when gunmen opened fire in a drive-by ambush. An Israeli soldier was also shot dead.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell called on Israel and the Palestinians to show restraint. “I hope that both sides will act with restraint. This is a very dangerous situation, it is not going to be solved except by parties in the region,” Powell told reporters at the State Department.

Russia also called for renewed efforts to bring peace to the Middle East after the bomb attack.