GAZA CITY, November 13, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Israeli forces assassinated a resistance leader and a Palestinian youth in the past 24 hours as Palestinian factions gearing up for a new round of Cairo-hosted national dialogue made clear that they would only extend a "conditional" truce with Tel Aviv and after getting guarantees.

Shoja'a Balawi, a 26-year-old local leader of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was killed early on Sunday, November 13, by occupation troops near the West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian medics told Agence France Presse (AFP).

On Saturday evening, Bilal al-Shahr, 19, was shot dead by Israeli forces near Khuza'a across Gaza Strip borders.

Israel has launched several offensives over the past two months in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank targeting resistance elements.

The factions have been observing a de facto truce since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was elected in January, an agreement that was cemented at talks brokered by Egypt last March.

The shaky truce has repeatedly been put to the test by Israeli assassinations of resistance activists and incessant attacks.

The "cooling down" period was broken in September when Israel assassinated three Islamic Jihad leaders, prompting the resistance movement to fire a salvo of rockets into the Israeli town of Sderot.

Ahead of a proposed meeting in Cairo to tackle truce extension, Palestinian factions said Sunday they would not accept one-party calm.

"Israel did not abide by the conditions and rules of this shaky truce," said Mushir Al-Masri, Hamas's spokesman, stressing that neither Hamas nor Palestinian resistance groups were willing to extend the truce without a price.

"The Israeli aggressions must come to an end first, and Israel should release all Palestinian detainees," Masri said.

Islamic Jihad leader Nafiz Azzam said the Palestinians have proved "wise" in adhering to the truce.

"We will not jump to conclusions, but we will not accept any one-sided deals any longer," he said emphatically.

"Israel did not honor its commitments under past agreements, and, what is even worse, the truce did not breathe new life into the dormant peace process," added Saleh Zaidan of the Palestinian Democratic Front for Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

"In Cairo, we will not agree to truce extension unless Israel gives guarantees," he averred.

Kayed Al-Ghoul, a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), agreed.

"The cooling-down is only a tactical decision that should have served resistance, but it came after intense pressure form outsiders, which is undermining the resistance."

The PFLP is the only faction that did not commit itself to the "cooling-down" period with Israel as its leader in Jericho Ahmad Sa'adat was still being detained by Israelis on charges he gave ordered the assassination of former Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi.

"We will not jump to conclusions, but we will not accept any one-sided deals any longer," Azzam said.

Moamen Basiso, a Gaza-based political analyst, said the truce is a double-edged sword.

"Of course it has pluses like it helped ease international pressure on the unabated resistance and the barbaric Israeli aggressions," he said.

"Resistance fighters have also been given an opportunity to relax and charge their batteries; additionally the truce exposed the world Israeli violations and evasive policies."

Basiso, however said that the truce also had a negative side.

"It dampened the fighting spirit of the Palestinians, who have become preoccupied with their economic conditions and living standards."

The Palestinian Authority (PA) argues that the extension of the current fragile truce is in the interest of the resistance and the Palestinians all in all.

Minister of State Ahmad Majdlani said IOL that "renewal of truce is part of pressures on the Israeli government to force it back to the negotiating table."

The authority is, in the meantime, trying to put in order the Palestinian home, he added.