Israel says it will respond positively to Palestinian cease-fire

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Israeli military is willing to suspend operations against Palestinian militants if they call off attacks, Israeli leaders said Sunday, signaling a shift in position that could help pave the way toward a cease-fire after more than four years of fighting.

The announcement, by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, came as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he was closing in on a truce deal with Islamic militants and called on Israel to respond positively to a truce.

Abbas has been in Gaza since last Tuesday pressuring militant groups to halt their attacks on Israeli targets. Abbas hopes a truce will lead to the resumption of peace talks.

"We can say that there has been significant progress in the talks. Our differences have diminished, and therefore we are bound to reach an agreement very soon," Abbas told Palestinian television.

He said it is "essential" that Israel end attacks against the militants and called on Israel to free many of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners it is holding.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said a claim by Israel's defense minister that a monthlong truce had been agreed was premature. He said Abbas, scheduled return to his West Bank headquarters on Sunday, would remain in Gaza for an extra day to work on a deal.

Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad also said no agreement had been reached, but that the talks were progressing. Both groups said they would reserve the right to retaliate in the event of an Israeli offensive.

Signs of a cease-fire already were in place Sunday. With Israel's blessing, Abbas deployed about 3,000 security forces in northern Gaza over the weekend to prevent mortar and rocket attacks on Israeli targets. The area - where militants frequently launch rockets into southern Israel - has been quiet since the deployment.

Sharon held a special Cabinet meeting Sunday in Sderot - a southern border town that has been repeatedly targeted by Palestinian rocket fire.

He praised the recent calm as a "positive" development, but warned of a tough response if attacks resume. "I hope that perhaps the quiet will continue and if not, then the army and security forces will continue to do whatever is necessary in order to remove the threat," Sharon said.

Meeting participants, speaking on condition of anonymity, quoted Sharon as saying Israel would hold off a threatened offensive into Gaza as the Palestinian forces "preserve quiet."

Mofaz said a deal is emerging between Abbas and the militants to halt violence for "something like a month." During that time, negotiations will continue on a broader agreement on power sharing and a joint political platform.

A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the group is ready for a 30-day test period and will consider an open-ended cease-fire if Israel stops military operations during this period.

On Saturday, another key militant group, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, said it is ready for a truce. Al Aqsa has ties to Abbas' ruling Fatah movement.

Participants in the talks have said a document being considered calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the areas Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

Hamas in the past has called for Israel's destruction, and acceptance of the document would mean a significant change of position for the Islamic militants.

The militants also want assurances that Israel will agree to a large-scale release of Palestinian prisoners.

"The top priority for a cease-fire is the release of prisoners and to maintain the right to defend our people in the event of an attack," Hamas said in a statement released Sunday. There are an estimated 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Despite the relative calm, there was sporadic violence Sunday.

In southern Gaza, militants detonated a bomb near an Israeli tank, fired a mortar shell at a Jewish settlement and fired at Israeli troops near another settlement, the army said. No injuries were reported. The incidents occurred in areas where the Palestinian forces have not yet been deployed.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli troops discovered a weapons lab that included 55 pounds of explosives, 120 liters of chemicals and three explosives belts used by suicide bombers, the army said. The city has been a center of militant activity during four years of fighting.