Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ruled out talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas until he takes "serious action" against armed groups, Sharon's office said on Thursday.

Sharon's remarks came after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in the Israeli coastal city of Hadera on Wednesday, killing five Israelis and wounded dozens.

The Islamic Jihad (holy war) movement claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing in revenge for the Israeli killing of a top Jihad commander in the West Bank town of Tulkarm.

A summit between Sharon and Abbas set for mid-October was postponed until early November, their first since Israel completed its Gaza pullout on Sept. 12.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army arrested Thursday a top leader of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin during a raid in the West Bank town, Palestinian security sources said.

Troops exchanged gunfire with militants during the operation launched as part of Israel's response to the Hadera suicide bombing.

There was no report of casualties in the raid.

An Israeli military source confirmed that troops had conducted an "arrest mission" in Jenin.

Source: Xinhua