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Palestinian Authority, militants struggle for a deal
RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- The Palestinian Authority and militant groups continued grappling Thursday over a possible three-month cease-fire with Israel, but the outcome remains uncertain. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat said there was no deal yet but that an announcement is expected soon. "Until now, it has not been officially decided, but we expect that in the coming few hours, there will be a declaration," Arafat told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The cease-fire is considered crucial for the Palestinian Authority and Israel making progress on the U.S.-backed "road map" to Middle East peace. The road map, drafted by the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia, calls for a Palestinian state by 2005. But incremental steps include Palestinians clamping down on terror groups and Israel dismantling illegal settlement outposts built since March 2001. Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza said there would be no agreement until Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas returns there to discuss the matter. Abbas is scheduled Thursday afternoon to go to Gaza, and militant leaders said it is impossible for them to sign off on a cease-fire while Israel carries out targeted killings of Palestinian militants. On Wednesday, Israel attacked a Hamas militant who the Israel Defense Forces said was on his way to launch a mortar attack against Israeli settlers. The militant was wounded, according to Palestinian sources. Two other Palestinians were killed and 11 others wounded, the sources said. Also Wednesday, a senior Palestinian official said representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades had signed an agreement in principle to declare a three-month cease-fire with Israel. The text of a proposed deal was signed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Saleh in Damascus, Syria, as well as Marwan Barghouti, representing Fatah and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the official said. Barghouti, a top leader of Arafat's Fatah movement, is on trial in Israel accused of carrying out attacks on Israelis. Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is an offshoot of the Fatah movement. Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rudenieh said the deal had not been formalized because Israel has not agreed to end targeted killings, which he called essential. He pressed the United States to get that commitment from Israel. If the Palestinian Authority can reach agreement with the militant groups on the ground in Gaza, an announcement is expected to be made in Cairo, where the Egyptian government has been trying to help the Palestinians broker a deal. U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to come to the region for meetings Saturday with Israeli and Palestinian officials. In an address in London, Rice said, "We've asked both sides to refrain from actions that make it more difficult for that partnership to emerge, and we will continue dialogue with the parties to make certain they take this new opportunity for partnership to fight terror. "There are heavy responsibilities on the Palestinians to actually fight terror, not just on the Israelis to give space for Palestinians to fight terror. This is a time of testing for everyone." The United States continues to push for Arab states to cut off funding for Hamas, Rice said. When asked about the possibility of a cease-fire Wednesday, President Bush said, "I'll believe it when I see it." Bush said the "true test" would be if Palestinian militant groups gave up their arms and thus their ability to disrupt the peace process. Other developments• A Palestinian gunman on Thursday killed an Israeli man in the Israeli Arab village of Baka el Garbiya in northern Israel, Israeli police and medical sources reported. The victim was identified as Amit (Amos) Martin, 31, a telephone company technician, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. A guard who was with Martin fired at and wounded the gunman after the technician was hit, Israeli police said. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting. • After the shooting in Baka el Garbiya, Israeli security forces searched the area, discovering two Palestinians carrying two large bags containing explosives, police and security sources said. A firefight ensued and the two were killed, police said. • Israel Defense Forces troops uncovered a 25-kilogram (55-pound) explosive device near the northern Gaza perimeter fence. The device was destroyed by Israeli police. • Israeli forces demolished the house of a Hamas terrorist Wednesday night in the West Bank city of Hebron, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Nadar Raduan Abed Alhakim Abu Turkei recruited suicide bombers for attacks in Israel and planned and carried out terrorist attacks against Israeli vehicles in the Hebron area, the IDF reported. • Three mortars were fired at the Israeli community of Neveh Dekalim in Gaza, the IDF reported Thursday. No injuries were reported. However, the mortars damaged electrical infrastructure in the area, causing power outages throughout Gush Katif, according to the IDF.
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