The latest in an escalating round of terrorist attacks on Israeli targets has left one more stumbling block in the way of a peace process that has struggled to get off the ground.

Sunday's suicide bombing that killed 19 people has prompted Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to call for separation from Palestinian refugees. The Israeli government has also intensified its crackdown on militant Muslim groups.

"It's very likely that Israeli-Palestinian talks will be suspended for a while or slow down," said Arthur Goldschmidt, professor of Middle East history.

Both sides are angry, Goldschmidt said, as Israelis fear for their safety and Palestinians think their leaders are not asking for enough in peace talks.

"As long as people feel that way, it's hard for their leaders to talk," he said.

Many Palestinians have shifted their support to terrorist groups, Goldschmidt said, because they see Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, as a weak representative.

Palestinians are upset with Arafat because he has not threatened to end peace talks while Israeli settlements continue to be built in the West Bank. Arafat's willingness to delay discussion of the autonomy of Jerusalem has also led to dissent in the Middle East, he said.

Tuvia Abramson, director of the Penn State Hillel Foundation, agreed that the bombing will have detrimental effects on the peace talks.

"This bomb put a major obstacle in front of the government in their striving to achieve the peace," Abramson said. "If there is a reality of peace, then terrorists must stop."

The bombing could also provide ammunition for right-wing Israelis who think Israel has already given too much land to the Palestinians, Abramson said.

Continued terrorist attacks have also raised questions about Arab commitment to the peace process.

Even though only one group was responsible for Sunday's bombing, Abramson said it portrays the Arabs as totally uninterested in peace. The pressure is now on Israel to continue the peace talks.

However, some people think the Israeli government is responsible for inhibiting the peace process.

Musa Al-Halool (graduate-comparative literature) said the Israeli government has violated an understanding that Jewish settlements should not be expanded into Palestinian territory.

"In a way (the expansion of settlements) might have triggered the attack," Al-Halool said. The militant groups saw that the peace process was going nowhere and resorted to violence, he said.

Despite the various reasons given for the attack, many agree that new actions need to be taken.

Erica Schwarz, co-president of Yachad -- Penn State Friends of Israel, said it will be difficult for the Palestinians to form any sort of state without spurring Israeli concern.

"I think it's just one more sign," Schwarz said, "that some sort of drastic action must be taken."