Palestinians agree to renew truce with Israel

Palestinian militant groups have agreed to reinstate their temporary cease-fire deal with Israel, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday.

The decision includes Fatah, Hamas and other factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Fatah had already halted its rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

However, some of the factions' representatives said the cease-fire would be implemented only if Israel halted it s military attacks in the Gaza Strip.

The temporary cease-fire deal does not include Islamic Jihad or breakaway Fatah factions now operating in Gaza under the influence of Hezbollah.

Abbas said at a graduation ceremony for the Force 17 presidential guard yesterday that the factions had secured the deal on Wednesday night. Abbas hinted the deal was meant to prevent Israel from exploiting circumstances in which it might send a military force into Gaza.

A few hours later a Hamas official confirmed that Hamas and other factions had agreed to the cease-fire on the condition it was mutual. A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad said his organization had objections to the deal but said "we will not stand in the way of an agreement among the various factions."

Abbas said yesterday that Palestinian factions had agreed to halt all acts that could invite Israeli aggression. Militants quickly denied his claim.

Fatah agreed to a mutual cease-fire, but senior Fatah officials said the problem of the abducted Israeli soldier still stood. "It's clear there will be no real solution or cease-fire without the release of Gilad Shalit, but Abbas and Haniyeh wish to create an impression of political achievement," one official said.

Haniyeh pressures Hamas

Haaretz reported earlier this week that the Palestinian factions had agreed to stop the rocket fire into Israel following Haniyeh's pressure on Hamas men and other factions to stop the fire.

Fatah officials said the unity government issue was no more than a spin of Hamas and Abbas, since Hamas had presented unrealistic conditions for forming a unity government.

Hamas officials spelled out their terms for the possible formation of a unity government in a meeting with Abbas, the official Palestinian daily Al-Ayam reported yesterday.

The newspaper said Hamas had demanded it maintain the post of prime minister and that the ministerial positions be filled in proportion to the parliamentary strength of the respective factions, thereby giving Hamas a majority in the government.

The PA's official diplomatic platform would be based on the Prisoner's Document.