TEL AVIV – Israel's government intends to restrain its military from any retaliation in wake of a suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub in which four people were killed and 53 others injured.

Officials said Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz directed the military to refrain from any large-scale operation in the West Bank amid the suicide attack in Tel Aviv on Feb. 25. The suicide attacker, who detonated a 30-kilogram bomb at the entrance of the nightclub, was said to have been a member of Islamic Jihad and came from a village near the West Bank city of Tulkarm.

"The government believes that it is more effective to cooperate with the Palestinian Authority than to undertake a major operation," an official said.

Palestinian sources identified the bomber as Abdullah Badran, 21, a university student from Dir Al Ghusun, north of Tulkarm. Two of Badran's brothers were arrested by Israeli security forces, they said.

Officials said Israel has urged PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to crack down on Palestinian insurgency groups. They said Israel's government and military would seek to increase cooperation with PA security agencies.

Tulkarm was to have been among the first West Bank cities to revert to PA security control. Officials said military units had suspended operations inside Tulkarm and Kalkilya as part of an effort to encourage PA security responsibility over those cities.

On Saturday, Mofaz convened military and security chiefs to formulate a response to the suicide attack. Later, a statement said Mofaz blamed Syria for the attack and suspended the transfer of West Bank cities to the PA.

"The defense minister said that at this point the process of transferring Palestinian cities to Palestinian control is frozen until Israel evaluates whether Abbas's government is indeed taking the necessary steps against Islamic Jihad and other terror groups," a Defense Ministry statement said. "The defense minister determined that Israel sees Syria and the Islamic Jihad movement are behind the murderous attack in Tel Aviv."

The suicide strike in Tel Aviv was the first in that Israeli city since November 2004. The bombing took place a day after the new government of Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei was approved by the Palestinian Legislative Council.

On Saturday, PA police arrested two Jihad operatives on suspicion of being linked to the suicide strike. PA officials have blamed Hizbullah for financing and ordering the attack. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the strike.

"There is a third party that wants to sabotage this process," Abbas said on Saturday.