Sharon offered Thursday to pull Israeli troops out of parts of the two regions.
Senior member Isma'eel Abu Shanab told United Press International that Hamas had not yet officially accepted reaching a cease-fire with the Palestinian Authority, and that the issue was still under the discussion of the movement's leadership.
"Hamas has one leadership in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, prisons and Diaspora [refugees]. Accepting a cease-fire might take some time, but at the end there will be a unified answer on whether to accept a cease-fire or reject it," said Abu Shanab.
Well-informed sources said Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Abu Mazen wanted to bring a cease-fire deal with Hamas to the summit meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Jordan. Jordan's King Abdullah will host Abu Mazen, Sharon and President Bush, who has made an oblique requirement for no violence by saying he would meet with the two leaders "conditions permitting."
A cease-fire agreement would require that Hamas stops all armed and bombing attacks in Israel as well as in the West Bank and Gaza against settlers and Israeli soldiers, said the sources.
Abu Mazen revealed to reporters Thursday that Hamas representatives had agreed to end attacks inside Israel as well as in the Palestinian territories. He said he hoped they would reach a formal cease-fire deal in the coming few days.
Next on the list would be Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah. Abu Mazen said he had not yet held any talks with either of these militant groups but hopes to in the near future.
Asked about the possibility of using force against Hamas or any other faction that doesn't commit to the cease-fire treaty, Abbas said, "We will never give civil war a chance, even if the agreement is breached."
Ismail Haneya, another Hamas representative, was quoted by Voice of Palestine radio Thursday as saying, "Hamas considers this dialogue as a national necessity, particularly during this crucial phase.
"We are still considering what was discussed previously with Abu Mazen as well as the proposals and suggestions made during the last meeting, and we will convene again as soon as we attain a decision."
Nabil Shaath, PA minister for foreign affairs, said Abu Mazen updated Sharon on his cease-fire progress during their meeting Thursday night in Jerusalem.
He added a firm note, however: "The only thing that would make us seriously consider ending anti-Israeli attacks is a full Israeli commitment of ending assassinations and military operations in the Palestinian territories."
Shaath's remarks were echoed by PA Minister of Culture Ziad Abu Amer when he confirmed Thursday that intensified contacts with Hamas were under way to reach a truce with Israel.
Abu Amer said that a truce "cannot be reached unilaterally," and that "the Palestinian demands aim at testing Israel's commitment to a cease-fire a well as the implementation of the road map."
At a two-and-a-half-hour meeting Thursday in Jerusalem with Abu Mazen, Sharon offered, in addition to the military withdrawal, to free Palestinian prisoners, increase the number of Palestinian workers allowed to work in Israel and hand over more of the Palestinian tax money that his government has been holding.
The Palestinian Authority's foreign minister said only that Abu Mazen told Sharon he would study the offer. The pullout would require Palestinian security forces to take over preventing attacks on Israel, and Abu Mazen told the Israeli daily Haaretz Tuesday that their security systems, particularly in the West Bank, were nearly destroyed.
Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, who was present at the meeting, said the Palestinian delegation had "a good impression" from the talks, the second such session since Abu Mazen assumed the newly established office in late April. PA Minister of State for Security Affairs Mohammad Dahlan also attended Thursday's meeting. PA President Yasser Arafat did not.
Shaath told United Press International that reactivating industrial zones in the West Bank and Gaza as well as allowing the Palestinian Authority to rebuild and reopen Gaza's airport were among issues that both sides had agreed upon.
But he added, "In relation to the Israeli army pullout from territories and handing security responsibilities to the Palestinians, that is going to wait until after the trilateral summit."
Copyright 2003 by United Press International.
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