Militants snub Arafat 'give peace a chance' plea

Yasser Arafat has appealed to Palestinian militants to halt attacks on Israelis – and his newly-appointed security adviser urged Washington to restrain Israel – in a bid to give the US-backed peace plan another chance.

Militants formally abandoned their nearly two-month unilateral ceasefire after Israel responded to a deadly suicide bombing in Jerusalem last week with missile strikes on Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip.