Abbas, who will personally take part in the Cairo talks, expects factions to agree to halt anti-Israeli attacks. (Reuters)

Additional Reporting By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff

RAMALLAH/CAIRO, March 10, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A new round of inter-Palestinian dialogue is to get underway Tuesday, March 15, in the Egyptian capital, with the Palestinian Authority seeking a consensus on a long-term comprehensive ceasefire with Israel.

The Palestinian resistance factions, meanwhile, are expected to insist on international guarantees Israel would reciprocate such a ceasefire, in addition to the necessity of setting up a unified national leadership.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said Thursday, March 10, he expects factions to agree to halt anti-Israeli attacks during the Cairo talks, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“There are no radical differences and the Cairo dialogue should expect to crown efforts that are underway with the declaration of a (ceasefire) agreement,” he told a news conference.

“I am going to take part in these talks to contribute to their success,” said the Palestinian leader.

“The Palestinian Authority, backed by some Arab capitals, chiefly Cairo, Riyadh, Doha and Damascus, is seeking an agreement with the national and Islamic resistance factions on a long-term ceasefire,” a well-placed Palestinian source told IslamOnline.net.

He expressed “cautious” optimism over the success of the coming round of the dialogue, seeking to pave the way for the resumption of peace talks with Israel.

The source further expected the resistance factions to make concessions in swap for reciprocal moves by the Palestinian Authority.

The PA has been pressing the factions for a long-term ceasefire as a pre-step for pushing the Israeli government to meet its obligations under the internationally-endorsed roadmap peace plan.

It is also trying to incorporate the ceasefire agreement in the Israeli unilateral disengagement plan in an effort to reach a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause.

The three-day round of talks is expected to be attended by 13 Palestinian resistance factions, an Egyptian source told IOL.

Syrian Efforts

The Palestinian source said Syria is exerting “positive” efforts to guarantee the success of the new round of inter-Palestinian dialogue.

Damascus is working to bridge the gaps between the factions’ desire to give priority to drawing up a joint political program paving the way for a national unity government after the July legislative elections and the PA’s push for a long-term ceasefire with Israel, he added.

It is not yet clear whether Syria will take part in the coming round of the inter-Palestinian dialogue though.

Over the past few days, there were press reports that Egypt had invited Syria to take part in the talks.

Washington and Israel accuse demands of harboring Palestinian “terrorists” and seeking to undermine peace efforts on the Palestinian track.

Syria has always rejected the claimed, maintaining that the offices of Palestinian resistance factions on its soil are media branches.

Damascus has refuted media reports that it had asked Khaled Meshaal, the political head of Hamas and Ramadan Shallah, the Islamic Jihad leader, to leave the country.

International Guarantees

The resistance factions, in return, are expected to press for regional and international guarantees that Israel would honor any ceasefire agreement, Palestinian sources told IOL.

A unilateral truce declared by Palestinian resistance factions on June 29, 2003, collapsed after Israeli forces assassinated Ismail Abu Shanab, a senior Hamas political leader.

President Abbas also echoed similar concerns.

The Palestinian leader condemned Thursday's killing of an Islamic Jihad activist in the northern West Bank.

“Assassinations and attempted assassinations complicate matters. Given that we are observing a cooling down period, Israel should do the same,” he stressed.

Echoing earlier comments from senior Palestinians, Abbas also slammed Israel for dragging its feet over enacting confidence-building gestures that Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon promised at the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting.

“We did not reach an agreement due to (Israel's) prevarications,” he said of Wednesday's deadlocked talks on transferring security control in West Bank towns to the Palestinian Authority.

The transfer of security in five West Bank towns -- Ramallah, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Tulkarem and Jericho -- was one of the key issues agreed on during Sharm summit.

Israel also backed down on pledges to release 900 Palestinian resistance fighters.

Instead, it set free 500 prisoners, most of whom were administrative detainees who had nothing to do with resistance activities.

“The (inter-Palestinian) dialogue doesn't aim at reaching an agreement over a long-term ceasefire,” Osama Himdan, a Hamas politburo member, told IOL.

“Rather it aims at discussing issues related to the domestic Palestinian situation, chiefly agreeing on a joint political program and forming a unified leadership.”

Fahd Soliman, a politburo member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), agreed.

He, however, sounded pessimistic over reaching an agreement on such issues in view of the PA’s insistence on pushing for a long-term ceasefire with Israel.

The main Palestinian resistance groups pledged Saturday, February 12, to maintain a de facto truce and not to immediately retaliate any Israeli aggression, while they weigh a formal ceasefire with Tel Aviv.