Palestinians agree truce as peace accord nears

Militant groups have agreed to halt their attacks as they near a final cease-fire deal with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and await Israel’s response to their moves, a senior Palestinian official said today.

Ziad Abu Amr, the Palestinian official who is overseeing the dialogue with the militants, said “the Palestinian parties have agreed to calm the situation and we are waiting to see if Israel is ready to respond to that and then to hold a truce.”