Palestinian premier to meet Hamas in ceasefire bid

The Palestinian prime minister has welcomed the prospect of talks with Hamas and the Islamic terror group said it would consider halting attacks against Israelis, just days after it took part in a deadly strike against a Jewish settlement in Gaza.

Yesterday’s tentative moves towards a new ceasefire came after Israel retaliated for the attack on the Netzarim settlement by blowing up three empty high-rise buildings near the isolated Jewish enclave.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Haniyeh said Palestinian premier Ahmed Qureia had offered talks towards a new cease-ire with Israel and Hamas accepted.

Last night, Qureia confirmed that he favoured talks with Islamic militants responsible for most of the 104 suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis in three years of conflict.

Qureia, who has been pushing for ceasefire talks since taking office at the head of a Yasser Arafat-appointed emergency government earlier this month, said: “We welcome any meetings or dialogue with the Palestinian factions … in order to reach a national position that will achieve the national interests of the Palestinian people.”

He said he would include both Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group in the talks.

However, Qureia’s own position remained shaky. Arafat appointed the emergency Cabinet after Qureia failed, in weeks of wrangling with Arafat’s Fatah leadership, to field an agreed list of Cabinet ministers. The present Cabinet is to serve until November 4, and Qureia has indicated that he will not continue in his post, triggering a new crisis.

Talks with Israel over a ceasefire and the US-backed ”road map” peace plan have been stalled by the internal Palestinian political uproar, because Israel, like the United States, refuses to deal with Arafat, saying that he is tainted with terrorism.

However, Arafat has shown, through months of political manoeuvring around his first premier, Mahmoud Abbas, and now Qureia, that he remains solidly in charge.

Israel insists that Arafat give up control of Palestinian security forces. Qureia clashed with the veteran leader over appointment of an interior minister who would command the armed police and security. Arafat refused to budge, and under the present system, the national security council he heads remains in command of security.

Israel has said it will not begin ceasefire negotiations until all Palestinian security forces are placed under one command and begin cracking down on militants, a step Qureia has refused to endorse.

A unilateral truce declared by militants on June 29 was negotiated through back channels, without the involvement of Abbas, and broke down several weeks later in a surge of Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli reprisals.

Despite the difficulties, Haniyeh said his group had responded favourably to an invitation to meet Qureia. ”Hamas is preparing for this meeting,” he said, adding that no date has been set.

On Friday, Hamas and Islamic Jihad co-operated in the Netzarim attack, in which three Israeli soldiers, including two women, were killed.

Israel hit back yesterday morning, blowing up three empty high-rise buildings near Netzarim, saying that militants used the buildings as lookout points.