Egypt fails to halt Mideast terror attacks

An Egyptian bid to halt Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis failed tonight and rivals vowed the bloodshed would continue.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said his government would ”pursue and catch every initiator of terrorism and its perpetrators in every place and at every time until victory.”

Ismail Abu Shanab, leader of Hamas which is responsible for many suicide bomb attacks, said that “now is not the time for a truce”

In Gaza, officials at the talks said Egypt would invite the parties to Cairo to continue the discussions and reach an agreement.

However Israel’s foreign minister demanded the militias be crushed, not courted.

Silvan Shalom rejected the idea of a deal with Hamas, saying Palestinian security forces have to dismantle militias, as required by a US backed “road map” to Palestinian statehood by 2005.

Shalom said a truce would simply allow militant groups to recover from Israeli strikes: “We can’t accept this (a cease-fire).”

Despite tough statements by Hamas, Palestinian officials were optimistic that a deal can be announced very soon. “I hope we’ll get some answers (from the militias) tomorrow,” said Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath.

Egyptian mediators told the Palestinian factions in two days of talks that they had been given American assurances that Israel will halt targeted killings of Palestinians suspected of involvement in violence, participants in the talks said.

The armed groups have said they will only consider stopping attacks – and then only in Israel, not in the West Bank and Gaza Strip – if Israel promises to halt military strikes, including targeted killings.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would not make blanket promises.

After today’s talks, Egypt was seeking firmer guarantees from the United States, possibly in writing, that Israel will halt targeted killings.

The mediators will report to Washington and the so-called Quartet of mediators on the meetings with the militants, the official said.

Sharon told his Cabinet that he would not initiate military strikes in the event of a ceasefire, but would continue targeting “ticking bombs,” a term widely understood as referring to militants about to carry out attacks.

However, Israeli officials later said Sharon defines ”ticking bombs” much more broadly and that it includes those who send bombers and other attackers. This would lower Israel’s threshold for continuing with targeted killings.

Egypt has tried repeatedly in recent months to work out a truce, a so-called “hudna,” but has been rebuffed each time by Hamas, the largest and deadliest of the militias, whose lead the other armed groups have followed.

The latest talks followed a bloody week in which more than 60 people on both sides were killed in bombings, shootings and missile strikes, and Hamas threatened multiple attacks in Israel, in retaliation for Israel’s failed attempt to kill one of the group’s leaders, Abdel Aziz Rantisi.

The United States is trying to salvage the road map, and intense US and Egyptian pressure came to bear on Hamas after the surge in violence.

President George Bush lashed out at Hamas, calling on the world to cut off its funding. “It is clear that the free world and those who love freedom and peace must deal harshly with Hamas and the killers,” Bush said.

:: The EU said today it considered listing all of Hamas as a terrorist organisation saying the military and political wings of the Palestinian militia were increasingly intertwined.

Those opposing the “road map” to peace, drafted by the US, EU, Russia and the UN, “will face consequences,” the EU foreign ministers said in a statement after a Luxembourg meeting.

The EU has already listed Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas’ military wing, as a terrorist organisation. It will do the same to its political wing unless Hamas backs the peace process and abandons suicide bombings, said Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who presided over the EU meeting.