Militant groups have agreed to halt their attacks as they near a final cease-fire deal with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and await Israel’s response to their moves, a senior Palestinian official said today.

Israel was giving Mahmoud Abbas one last chance to enforce a ceasefire tonight and decided to resume security talks with the Palestinians – holding off a major military offensive.

YASSER ARAFAT yesterday dismissed the US veto of a UN resolution against Israel's threats to expel him, saying the step will not "shake us".

AN Israeli missile strike killed a senior Hamas militant, his wife and three-year-old daughter in the Gaza Strip yesterday amid a surge of bloodletting that has plunged US-led peace efforts into turmoil.

Thousands of Hamas supporters have demonstrated against Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas’ peace efforts as leaders of the militant group said they were pulling out of talks aimed at ending attacks on Israelis.

A SENIOR Hamas official yesterday said the militant group is breaking off talks with the Palestinian prime minister on halting attacks on Israelis, a surprise reversal that throws into doubt a key component of a US-backed Mideast peace plan.

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas today rejected disarmament talks with Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, throwing the future of a US-backed peace plan into doubt.

Israel’s prime minister Ariel Sharon has said he will take a US-backed “road map” for Middle East peace to his Cabinet as early as tomorrow – and saying he is confident the plan will win approval.

Palestinian officials said today that they would not accept any changes to the US-backed road map to peace after Israel signalled it might support the plan, but only if some of its objections were taken into account.

THE Palestinian parliament yesterday approved the new position of prime minister as part of reforms sought by the United States, Europe and Israel to curb Yasser Arafat’s near absolute powers.

Palestinian MPs today approved the new position of prime minister but a behind-the-scenes deal is reported to be already in place guaranteeing Yasser Arafat continued control over security and peace talks with Israel.

The Palestinian parliament today began debating what powers the new job of prime minister should hold, amid suspicions that Yasser Arafat is prepared to give up little of his.

Israeli forces with tanks and helicopters moved deep into Gaza City early today, killing 12 Palestinians and wounding 51 others in exchanges of fire, a large-scale assault just three days before Israel’s election.