Hamas' foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar, blamed Israel for Abu Quka's death and said it "justifies the process of self-defense to stop the Israeli aggression by all means."
The blast came hours after a suicide bomber affiliated with Fatah disguised himself as an Orthodox Jew and hitched a ride in a car driving to the West Bank settlement of Kedumim. The bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the settlement, also killing the four Israelis in the car.
The suicide attack was the first by a Fatah affiliate since a truce was signed in February last year.
Israeli security officials say they expect more suicide bombings from Fatah militants now that Hamas has taken power. Fatah, the long dominant Palestinian party, lost to Hamas in January parliamentary elections.
With Israel's acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert planning to pull out of much of the West Bank in the coming years, Fatah-linked militants might try to step up violence to gain credibility with the public and create the impression that Israel is retreating under fire.
Hamas has claimed that its years of attacks pushed Israel out of the Gaza Strip last year.
Alternatively, security officials said, Fatah militants might want to turn up the heat on Hamas, which is under heavy international pressure to renounce violence.
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