A Palestinian suicide car-bomber hurt four Israeli soldiers who stopped him reaching his target in the Gaza Strip today.
The incident heightened concern by Sharon's supporters that a large militant strike could harm his chances of winning a May 2 vote by his right-wing Likud party on the proposal to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and from a limited number of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Israeli soldiers opened fire at a suspicious jeep speeding towards the settlement of Kfar Darom shortly after dawn today. Moments later the jeep, marked with an Israeli flag, exploded killing the driver. Four Israeli soldiers were wounded.
"We succeeded at preventing what could have been a deadly attack," field commander Lieutenant Colonel Tomer Golan said.
Claiming responsibility, Hamas identified the bomber as Tareq Hmaid, a 24-year-old member of its Izz-el-Deen al-Qassam armed-wing - which has vowed bloody revenge for Israel's assassination of top leaders of the militant Islamic group.
"Tareq's operation was only a reaction to the terrorist attacks by the Zionist occupiers," said the bomber's father, Diab Hmaid. The car contained 250 kg (550 lb) of explosives, Hamas said.