Palestinian factions will hold more talks on ceasefire with Israel, said Abu Shanab (L) and al-Hindi (R)

By Mohammad Yassin, Moatesem al-Meniawi, IOL Correspondents

GAZA CITY, June 18 (IslamOnline.net) – Wrapping up their first meeting after the twin Mideast summits of Sharm El-Sheikh and Aqaba, Palestinian factions and Prime Minister Mahmmoud Abbas agreed Tuesday, June 17, to pursue talks on a truce with Israel and the formation of a unified Palestinian leadership.

The meeting grouped 13 Palestinian factions and was attended by Dr. Haidar Abdul Shafi, 84, who enjoys wide popularity and has often acted as a mediator between  Palestinian factions.

Ismail Abu Shanab, a senior leader of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, said the meeting came at the request of the Intifada's follow-up committee.

"The participants tackled a plethora of issues, including the controversial speech delivered by Abbas in Aqaba and his viewpoint," he said.

The Hamas leader further said that all factions agreed on pursuing dialogue on Palestinian national unity, a ceasefire with Israel and the formation of a unified  Palestinian leadership, asserting that Hamas was still mulling over the truce issue.

Abu Shanbab added that Abbas proposed a meeting with the leaders of Hamas on Wednesday, June 18, pointing out that Hamas did not mind holding such a meeting.

Fatah For Truce

For his part, Ahmad Halis, the secretary general of Fatah organization, said all Palestinian factions are willing to take part in a coalition Palestinian government.

"Fatah goes for hammering out a truce with Israel providing that the Palestinians would reserve the right to defend themselves and their homeland and Israel stops assassinations, incursions, lifts the siege on the Palestinians and finds a solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees," said Halis.

He asserted that Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah's armed wing, would comply with any decision taken by the leadership of Fatah.

On the truce issue, Halis said Fatah would debate the matter in a meeting on Thursday, June 19.

Jamil al-Majallawi, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) official in the Gaza Strip, said there was nothing new about the ceasefire talks.

The meeting tackled the unified Palestinian leadership, he added, making clear that all factions stood ready to join this leadership.

Dr. Mohammad al-Hindi, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad, stressed that there would be individual meetings with all Palestinian factions following Tuesday's meeting.

He charged that Abbas' speech in Aqaba laid more obstacles before the Palestinian people.

Hindi further said that the truce was primarily aimed at sparing the Palestinian and Israeli civilians the scourge of war, stressing this was and still is the line of the Islamic Jiahd.

On the unified leadership, the Jihad official said the issue is still in its embryonic phase, noting that his movement would study the proposal put forward by Abbas.

U.S. Middle East peace monitor, John Wolf, held his first talks with Palestinian leaders Tuesday hoping to unblock stalled efforts to reach a ceasefire with Israel and launch the U.S.-sponsored roadmap to end their conflict.

6-week Raids Curb

In a related development, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported Wednesday that Israel would curb its military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for six weeks if the Palestinian factions agree to a ceasefire.

The paper, quoting a government source in occupied Jerusalem, said the move aimed to strengthen the hand of Abbas and allow his security forces to act against factions which violate the truce.

Israel and the United States have "agreed the Israeli army will limit its military operations" in the Palestinian territories for six weeks, it said.

The arrangement was the result of talks in Washington between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief of staff, Dov Weissglass, and U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Haaretz said.

In exchange for a ceasefire, Israel would commit itself not to try to assassinate Palestinian "militants", apart from "ticking human bombs" ready to carry out "suicide" bombings, it said.

Haaretz said Israel and the United States had reached an oral agreement on the arrangement that had yet to be put down on paper.

"We have laid down our position to the Americans and they understand: We have no reason to intervene to prevent attacks if the Palestinians are doing the job," Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Sharon he told AFP.

"On the other hand, we will do everything possible to prevent human bombs exploding against us, including eliminating those who order them," he said.