Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Monday vowed to continue efforts to fight against terror after three people were killed in a suicide bombing in the southern resort city of Eilat earlier in the day, local daily Ha' aretz reported.

Olmert made the remarks hours after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a local bakery in Eilat Monday morning, killing three people.

Israel would "learn all the details of this incident" to find out who sent the attacker and to which organization he belonged, the prime minister said.

But Olmert ruled out immediate military response, saying that only after all relevant intelligence had been collected, would Israeli army decide on a course of action, according to local Jerusalem Post.

Terming the attack "a very serious incident" and an "escalation ", Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said he intended to " consult with the entire defense establishment to take immediate necessary steps."

Three Palestinian military groups, namely the Islamic Jihad ( Holy War), the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed wing of Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and the previously unknown "Army of Believers" claimed responsibility for the attack.

In response to the attack, Israeli right-wing parties called on the government to adopt a tougher policy in regards to the PNA.

Right-wing Knesset (Parliament) member (MK) Arieh Eldad from National Union-NRP said that he hoped the attack would "bring sanity back to all those who call for negotiating with Hamas and strengthening Abbas."

Likud MK Yisrael Katz urged the government to immediately stop the transfer of arms to Fatah, saying that "the attack in Eilat serves as a warning sign to those who believe in the ceasefire with the Palestinians."

A spokesman for Israel Police was quoted by Ha'aretz as saying shortly after the bombing that "three people and the bomber were killed."

"This was a suicide bombing ... the bomber apparently entered with a bag or an explosives belt and blew himself up inside the shop," a police officer in Eilat told Israel's Army Radio.

Witnesses said that body parts were strewn throughout the bakery.

The Islamic Jihad identified the bomber as 21-year-old Mohammed Faisal al-Saqsaq from Gaza City and said he had originally set out from the West Bank and reached Eilat via Jordan, after seven months of preparation.

The attack was meant to help bring an end to weeks of Hamas- Fatah infighting, the group said.

The ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said that the attack was a "natural response" to Israel's policies.

Israeli police initially thought that the explosion was caused by a gas leak but then found out that it had been caused by a bomb.

Eilat District Police has intensified its security presence in the city and is carrying out investigation. Eilat police chief Bruno Stein said the police believed there could be more bombers in the city.

The emergency services raised their alert level to the highest.

The bombing is the first to strike Israel since last April, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in Tel Aviv's old bus station, killing 11 people.

Eilat, a Red Sea resort bordering both Egypt and Jordan, is a popular resort for Israelis and foreigners and has largely been spared the violence of the past years.

Israelis, however, have been the targets of a number of attacks in the neighboring Sinai Peninsula.

Source: Xinhua