At least 12 people were injured, one seriously, on Monday in a pipe bomb blast that exploded in a rubbish bin near a bank in the northern Israeli coastal city of Hadera, local media in Jerusalem reported.

Police cordoned off the area after the attack, fearing that other explosive devices might have planted in the area, the reports said.

There were no immediately claims of responsibility for the explosion which occurred close to the city's market area. However, police are treating the matter as a nationalist incident perpetrated by Arab militants attempting to derail the peace process.

Eighteen people were lightly or moderately injured in a pipe bomb explosion in another coastal city of Netanya, south of Hadera, on November 7, one day before Israel and the Palestinians formally launched the final-status talks. (Xinhua)