Suicide bomber injures seven at fast-food stand

JERUSALEM -- A suicide bomber blew himself up in a Jerusalem fast-food stand Tuesday, injuring seven people in the first attack here since back-to-back bombings prompted Israel to occupy major West Bank towns last month.

Earlier in the day, two Israeli settlers were shot and killed in the West Bank after they entered a Palestinian village, and a settler couple was seriously wounded after they were stabbed in their home by a Palestinian intruder.

Israeli officials warned that planned easing of restrictions in the seven Palestinian towns it occupied last month would be delayed if attacks continued. However, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Raanan Gissin, said Israel still wants to resume security talks with the Palestinians after a monthslong lull.

Also Tuesday, Israeli prosecutors charged two Palestinians with masterminding attacks that killed 17 Israelis, the first time indictments have been handed down in civilian court against alleged militants in the Palestinian uprising.

In the Jerusalem attack, the bomber detonated his explosives inside the Yemenite Felafel Stand in one of the most heavily guarded areas of central Jerusalem and one of the most targeted by militants: There have been at least eight bombing and shooting attacks in the area in the past 22 months of fighting.