Middle East: Palestinian Authority officials were upbeat yesterday on the likelihood that the radical Hamas movement would agree to a truce soon, but a senior Israeli military official made it clear the temporary ceasefire that the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, is negotiating with militants, is not a substitute for disarming them, with force if necessary, writes Peter Hirschberg
"Hamas told us they would give us an answer on Monday, so we expect an answer today and we expect it to be a positive one," said Palestinian Foreign Minister Mr Nabil Shaath.
But other Palestinian officials said senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders were on their way to Cairo for consultations - Egypt has been playing a key mediating role in trying to forge a truce - and that a formal announcement would only be given on Thursday.
"We are studying the situation and when we finish our study, we will declare our position clearly," said Dr Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip who narrowly escaped an Israeli assassination attempt earlier this month.
Cessation of hostilities is an essential part of the first phase of the US-backed road map peace plan, but Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, say they believe Hamas will exploit a truce in order to regroup and then relaunch attacks. Maj Gen Amos Gilad, who is negotiating the transfer of security control in Gaza with the Palestinians, said yesterday Israel could not afford to agree to a "hudna", the Islamic term for a temporary ceasefire.
"Hudna is a religious term which states, from Hamas' standpoint, that you build up strength so that afterward you can execute even more serious acts, more murders, murder on a wider scale," he said.
Mr Mohammed Dahlan, the Palestinian minister in charge of security affairs who is negotiating with Gilad, was quoted as saying yesterday that Israel's opposition to a ceasefire is tantamount to a call to Hamas to continue terror attacks.
The two men met again yesterday afternoon at the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza, to continue talks over the transfer of security to the Palestinians in the Strip. One of the main stumbling blocks remains the dispute over who will control the major north-south artery in Gaza. The two sides are discussing an American proposal to jointly patrol the road.
Palestinian officials have also said they are not keen to assume control in Gaza before they have forged a truce deal with Hamas.
Israeli security sources said last night, however, that they expected the Palestinians would agree to take over control within days.
Palestinian leaders blame Israel for the delay in the implementation of the road map.