Hamas gunmen killed but ceasefire hopes still high

Israel killed two Hamas attackers in the Gaza Strip and foiled a planned Palestinian bombing today, but there were growing indications that Hamas and other militant groups will agree soon to a three month ceasefire.

For several days Israeli and Palestinian officials have said they expected the militants to agree to end attacks, giving a chance to the US backed road map which aims to end 33 months of fighting and lead to a Palestinian state by 2005.

Sources close to the talks among the Palestinian groups said the militants would demand that in exchange for ending attacks, Israel would end targeted killings and military incursions. They would also call for a release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, but not set any deadline.

A top security source said Israel’s response to such an agreement would be dictated by whether attacks indeed ceased. The source said the Hamas leadership outside the Palestinian areas supports a truce but Israel fears it could not be imposed on local militants, especially in the West Bank.

An Israeli intelligence official told MPs that he believes agreement on a three month truce has been reached in principle but has not been finalised, and that it would apply to settlers and soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza as well as to Israel, a key Israeli demand.

Palestinian sources said they expected a formal truce announcement by the militants to be issued by Friday, possibly from Cairo.

Violence continued today.

Hamas said two of its members fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military vehicle in northern Gaza. That set off a firefight in which the two militants were killed. An Israeli soldier was wounded, the military said.

Israeli police said they captured two Palestinians en route to setting off explosives in an Israeli city.

Acting on an intelligence tip, police went on high alert and set up roadblocks in central Israel, apprehending the Palestinians in the Israeli Arab town of Kafr Kassem near the line with the West Bank, about 12 miles north-east of Tel Aviv. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from militant groups.

Police detonated the explosives safely, in a blast could be heard for miles around.

Area police commander Yehuda Bachar said that “a large attack which would of had a lot of victims” was averted.