"It will not be a unilateral truce for free, but rather a ceasefire reciprocated on certain conditions," Qorei

By Mustafa El-Sawwaf & Mohammad Yassin 

GAZA, November 20 (IslamOnline.net) – Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said on Wednesday, November 19, that a truce with Israel would not be for free, as he is trying to convince leaders of Palestinian factions into accepting a "comprehensive" ceasefire with Israel.

"It will not be a unilateral truce for free, but rather a ceasefire reciprocated on certain conditions," Qorei said in brief comments to reporters during a break in the talks.

He enticingly said that the agreement would "return situation back to normal" in the restive Palestinian territories, which are targeted by Israeli occupation forces in almost daily massive incursions.

But delegates of the Palestinian factions seemed suspicious, saying Israel has offered no guarantees to end its aggressions so far or opt to abide by the new ceasefire.

"Qorei carries no Israeli guarantees, and the proposed ceasefire bears no much difference from the earlier one," said Jamil Al-Migdawi of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad declared in August 2003 an end to a temporary truce after Israeli forces assassinated Hamas senior political official Ismail Rantissi as part of a large wave targeting other resistance leaders.

For Hamas, talk about hudna, or truce, is premature, as it should be preceded by a halt of Israeli incursions against Palestinian land.

"The issue is rather with an occupation, and the Palestinians have the right to defend themselves," said Hamas representative Ismail Hanya.

Qorei, who announced last week when his new government was sworn in that reaching a truce would be his priority, met with the National and Islamic Forces, an umbrella organization including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Observers said ceasefire talks could be undermined by an Israeli refusal on Thursday to abide by the U.N. Security Council's unanimous resolution on the internationally-backed "roadmap" for peace.

"It is possible that we will hold talks with the new Palestinian government on the basis of the roadmap but ... Israel does not feel that it is bound by the resolution," Trade Minister Ehud Olmert, who is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's official number two, told public radio.

The roadmap envisages a number of reciprocal confidence-building measures leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005.

Cairo Meetings

In the meantime, senior officials from Palestinian factions said that they will meet in Cairo on December 2 to continue talks on a suspension of anti-Israeli attacks.

The Egyptian team of mediators held a first round of truce talks on Wednesday in Gaza City handed the invitations to all Palestinian factions, the sources said.

"An invitation was given to us for a dialogue to be held in Cairo on December 2," senior Islamic Jihad leader Khaled Al-Batsh told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The talks will focus on "a formula for a total or partial ceasefire," means of strengthening the factions' decision-making power in the Palestinian Authority and efforts to find a common stand on "the struggle against the enemy," he said.

Mahmud Zahar, a senior leader of the Hamas group, confirmed his movement had been invited to Cairo.

"Neither the Palestinians nor the Egyptians want to repeat past experiences," Zahar said, alluding to the truce brokered last June by Qorei’s predecessor Mahmud Abbas.

The Egyptian delegation, led by deputy intelligence chief Mohsen El-No’mani, have met with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah leaders on Wednesday, and is expected to hold talks with those of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Soliman first made the truce proposal in his separate talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Qorei, as well as Israeli officials and U.S. Ambassador in Tel Aviv Daniel Kurtzer.