AN ISRAELI grocer sacrificed himself and saved others by tackling a Palestinian suicide bomber who entered his store yesterday.

Avner Mordechai, 63, was killed along with the bomber in his small shop in the Israeli village of Sde Trumot.

A police spokeswoman said the suicide bomber had probably been planning to target a bus or passengers at a nearby bus stop.

He probably went into Mr Mordechai's shop to wait for a bus, or for the bus stop to become busier, she said.

The man was carrying a bag packed with explosives. When Mr Mordechai realised, he confronted him and the man detonated his bombs, killing both of them.

Sde Trumot, a small farming village in the River Jordan valley, is about three miles from the northern edge of the West Bank.

The latest violence came despite a push by Palestinian and international leaders to persuade the militant groups to end such attacks.