The Hindu : Hopes of positive response from Hamas

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Tuesday, Jun 24, 2003

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Hopes of positive response from Hamas

Gaza City (Gaza Strip) June 23 . Palestinian officials said today they expected a positive response from Hamas on a truce with Israel soon.

Hamas officials said they were still studying the proposal.

Israeli officials said a truce agreement might not necessarily be acceptable to them, arguing that Hamas would use a temporary lull to re-group, only to carry out more attacks in the future.

A halt in violence is crucial for implementing a U.S.- backed peace plan, the ``road map'' to Palestinian statehood by 2005. In the first stage, the Palestinians must dismantle militant groups, while Israel must gradually withdraw to positions held before the outbreak of fighting 33 months ago. But lulls in violence and cease-fire efforts have been scuttled in the past, both by Hamas and Israel.

Israel has said it would only accept a truce deal between the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, and the militant groups only as a brief precursor to a crackdown by Palestinian security forces. ``The Palestinians must fight all the terror organisations,'' said the Israeli Defence Minister, Shaul Mofaz, today.

``Their dialogue with the terror organisations is their business.'' — AP

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