Palestinian hard-liners scupper truce offer

Palestinian factions have failed to unite behind a comprehensive truce offer to Israel after militants refused to agree to it at a meeting in Cairo.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath insisted, however, that there was “a general readiness” for a truce and said Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia would go to the Israelis to see if they were willing to reciprocate and halt military actions.

Shaath said the militants had told Qureia to continue negotiations with the Israelis, “if you feel they are ready to reciprocate”.

Palestinian delegates said further talks also were planned among Palestinian factions but no date was set.

Israel reacted by saying the militants’ intransigence presented a growing danger to Quriea’s government and warning Israeli forces would take “necessary steps” if faced with a threat of new suicide bombings.

One Palestinian militant faction said the talks failed for a lack of any guarantee that Israel would join a cease-fire.

The breakdown of the talks underlined the growing power of the militant factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad to shape conditions for a truce.

The two groups have carried out most of the suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis during more than three years of violence.

In addition to resisting a cease-fire, the militant groups refused to give Qureia a mandate to negotiate an overall peace with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Qureia and the Egyptian sponsors of the talks had hoped for a halt in violence that would jump start the stalled “road map,” the peace plan backed by the international community to create a Palestinian state by 2005.

Israel, which had said it would accept only a complete cease-fire, said it was pointless to work with the militants who scuttled the deal.

“Hamas today is a danger more to the Palestinian Authority than it is to us,” said Sharon spokesman Raanan Gissin.

Israel also said it would continue to talk to Qureia but would act if its security was threatened.

Although no suicide bombers have struck inside Israel for more than two months, Gissin said militants were continuing to plan for attacks.

“If there is no cease-fire and we continue to get (security) alerts we will take the necessary steps,” he said.

Nafez Azzam, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, said the militants would not go along with a comprehensive truce without Israeli guarantees to also halt military action. He said a cease-fire initiated by Palestinians in June fell apart when Israel kept up attacks.