Hamas offers Israel conditional truce

Gaza City, Monday, December 10:
Palestinian militant groups have offered to stop attacks within Israel for six days if the Israeli army stops its strikes on the West Bank and Gaza, reports BBC.

"We are giving the enemy a period to stop its assassinations, destruction, killings and bombardments," said a statement signed by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and two groups affiliated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

"In return, we will stop our martyrdom attacks and armed attacks within the borders of the occupied land of 1948 during this period, which will begin as of midnight December 10 until the end of the month of Ramadan."

An Israeli security official immediately dismissed the offer, telling Reuters news agency that Israel had no choice but to continue to act in self-defence as long as the Palestinian leadership did not fight terrorism and make arrests.

There are also doubts as to the commitment of the various groups to the offer, with one Fatah military wing member quoted as saying the statement was issued prematurely. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have carried out five suicide bombings in the past 10 days, killing 29 Israelis.

The declaration does not concede an end to military operations inside the Palestinian territories. This means settlements and Israeli military positions in the territories would continue to be considered fair targets, our correspondent says.

The offer came after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned that Israel might step up its military operations against Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, following another suicide attack on Sunday which injured 10 Israelis.

"Our operations are yielding impressive results, but we have not finished our action, and in light of what is happening, we might have to step up our activities," Mr. Sharon told Israeli radio.

His comments followed a major Israeli incursion into autonomous Palestinian territory to arrest militant activists on Sunday morning, during which four Palestinian policemen where killed.

Dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles, backed by two gunships, took part in the pre-dawn raid on the Palestinian villages of Anabta and Ramin in the West Bank to arrest suspected militants.

Shortly afterwards a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated explosives at a crowded hitch-hiking point in the port city of Haifa in northern Israel, injuring at least 10 people.

Police said the suicide bomber was left badly wounded after the blast. When they saw he was still moving and feared he might detonate more explosives, they shot him dead.