GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – In the biggest test of his brief tenure, Palestinian Arab leader Mahmoud Abbas came to the Gaza Strip yesterday, hoping to persuade terrorists to halt attacks on Israel.

But in a show of defiance, a Palestinian Arab suicide bomber blew himself up on a settler road in Gaza, killing an Israeli security agent and wounding seven other Israelis.

The Islamic terrorist group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack – the first suicide bombing against an Israeli target since November 1.

Before the bombing, Prime Minister Sharon warned his patience was running thin, telling military commanders the army must deal with rocket and mortar attacks against Israelis “at the earliest possible stage.”

Mr. Sharon’s aide, David Baker, said yesterday’s bombing showed that “Palestinian terror is increasing.” He said Israel has been restrained, but “no country in the world would allow its citizens to be bombed on a daily basis.”

Israel has come under international pressure to hold off on any large-scale raid into Gaza to give Mr. Abbas, who took office Saturday, a chance to cobble together a cease-fire. The European Union and Jordan both urged Mr. Sharon to hold off on a raid.

Mr. Abbas traveled to Gaza last night and planned to remain for several days to try to work out a deal with terrorists. Palestinian Arab officials said he met late yesterday with Islamic Jihad leaders in a secret location and then saw Hamas leaders.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zukhri described the meeting as positive and said Hamas would consider Mr. Abbas’s demand for a cease-fire.

Mr. Abbas got a boost from a violent West Bank group linked to his Fatah Party, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The group’s leader, Zachariya Zubeidi, said his terrorists would stop attacks in Israel as a gesture to Mr. Abbas.

But there were no such signs in Gaza.

Just two hours after Mr. Abbas arrived, a Hamas terrorist blew himself up near an intersection where a main Palestinian road crosses an access road to a bloc of Jewish settlements, killing an Israeli agent from the Shin Bet security service and wounding seven Israelis – four soldiers and three other agents, the military said.

Yesterday’s attack marked the first time a Shin Bet agent was killed in action since the start of the latest round of violence in September 2000, the agency said in a statement.

A Palestinian Arab bystander was also injured, Palestinian Arab rescue officials said.

Hamas claimed responsibility in an electronic message, identifying the bomber as Omar Tabach, 21, of Gaza. The terrorist group dubbed the attack “Operation Stab in the Heart.”

The agents stopped Tabach at the junction and took him into an inspection room where he detonated an explosive device hidden in his underwear, the Shin Bet statement said.