OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 19 May 2003 — A Hamas bomber blew himself up in a Jerusalem bus yesterday, killing seven passengers and prompting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to call off a Washington trip seen as crucial for getting a new Middle East peace plan off the ground.

Sharon convened a special Cabinet meeting, and a senior adviser hinted strongly that Israel would take action against Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Several Cabinet ministers have been pushing for Arafat’s expulsion, and the adviser, Raanan Gissin, said he expected the issue would be discussed in the Cabinet session.

“I would say that there’s no reason why that (a possible expulsion) would not be raised and put on the table,” Gissin said. “If I will need to explain any of the difficult decisions that will be taken, if they will be taken I will have no problems.”

Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner accused Arafat of forming an alliance with hard-line Palestinians. “What we have here is an obvious joint effort by terrorist organizations and I would even say a fatal alliance between Palestinian terrorist organizations and Arafat, who is doing everything he can to scuttle Abu Mazen and Ariel Sharon’s efforts to rekindle the peace process,” he told reporters.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, met with Sharon Saturday night in the highest-level Israeli-Palestinian talks since just after the outbreak of the intifada 31 months ago. The leaders failed to narrow their differences over the road map plan, including who would take the first step.

Israel wants the Palestinians to begin, by arresting and disarming fighters, while the Palestinians say there must be parallel steps by both sides.

With Sharon postponing his US trip, implementation of the plan was delayed further, since the Israeli leader has said he would only give a final response to the proposal once he has discussed his reservations with US President George W. Bush.

“After the horrendous actions...he (Sharon) felt it necessary to be at home, with the various discussions that need to be taking place right now,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Sofer.

The United States condemned the bombing. “We remain ready to welcome the prime minister to the White House,” Ashley Snee, a presidential spokeswoman, said. No new date was set for Sharon’s visit.

“We condemn these acts of terror and send condolences to the families of the victims,” Snee said.

The bus bomber, disguised as an observant Jew with a skullcap and white prayer shawl, struck a few minutes before 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), at the beginning of rush hour on a regular work day in Israel. The blast went off in the front of the two-car bus.

The gush of metal and fire tore through the driver’s leg, and as he lost control of the vehicle its back end fishtailed, smashing a sidewalk bus stop shelter. The bodies of the dead remained sitting upright in their seats, including that of a woman with short dark hair whose head slumped back and whose legs were still crossed. One man’s body, heaved by the blast, leaned from a broken window.

Twenty passengers were wounded, including six soldiers who were on their way to their bases.

Hamas did not issue a formal claim of responsibility, but Bassem Jamil Tarkrouri, a 19-year-old Hamas supporter in the West Bank city of Hebron, was identified by relatives as the assailant.

Half an hour after the bus bombing, a second bomber blew himself up on the city’s outskirts, apparently after he failed to penetrate road blocks set up after the first attack. No one was hurt.

Also yesterday, Israeli troops killed an 18-year-old Palestinian in the Gaza Strip. The army said troops opened fire after several Palestinians tried to place an object near an army post.

Hours after the bombings, Israel imposed a “general closure” on the West Bank, tightening restrictions on Palestinians entering the Jewish state. “In the framework of the closure, Palestinians will not be allowed to exit and enter the territory of the state of Israel,” the army said in a brief statement.

The army gave few details. It has long imposed blockades on Palestinian cities, towns and villages and has restricted entry into Israel since the start of the intifada.