Abbas: Hamas may give peace a chance

The Palestinian terror group Hamas could declare a limited ceasefire as early as next week, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said.

His comments were published by an Israeli newspaper just hours before Abbas was due to meet Israeli premier Ariel Sharon for a second round of talks on how to end 32 months of violence.

Abbas is obliged to rein in the militant groups as a crucial part of the first phase of the US-backed road map to Mideast peace.

The meeting tonight between the two premiers sets the stage for a summit with US President George Bush in the Jordanian port of Aqaba next Wednesday.

Abbas met Hamas leaders last week, but no conclusions were reached.

The militants reportedly offered to stop attacks inside Israel and limit themselves to targeting soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israel dismissed the idea of a partial truce. But Abbas remained optimistic today that an agreement could be reached.

“I believe that next week I will reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas,” he told the Yediot Ahronot newspaper.

Hamas official Abdel Aziz Rantisi said the group might be willing to go along with a ceasefire, but only if Israel calls off its military operations against the Palestinians.

“Then Hamas is ready to halt targeting the Israeli civilians and limit the resistance against the soldiers and settlers inside the occupied lands,” he said,

Another senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Alzahar, told Israel Radio today that the group was considering a ceasefire with no conditions attached.

But a third said insisted there could be no truce until the Israeli army withdrew completely from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.