Israel, Palestinians declare ceasefire

Israeli and Palestinian leaders declared a ceasefire yesterday at a summit in Egypt aimed at ending more than four years of bloodshed.

Though militants waging an uprising since 2000 said they were not bound by the truce, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hailed a new chance for the Middle East.

"The calm which will prevail in our lands starting from today is the beginning of a new era," said Mr Abbas at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where Israeli and Palestinian flags flew side by side.

Mr Sharon said: "We must all declare here today that violence will not prevail, violence will not be allowed to murder hope... For the first time in a long time there is hope in our region for a better future for us and our grandchildren."

Emphasising Washington's new commitment to helping peace efforts, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed "the best chance for peace we are likely to see for some years".

Mr Abbas said the Palestinians agreed to stop violence while Mr Sharon called a halt to military operations at the highest-level meeting since near the start of the Palestinian "Intifada", in which more than 4,000 people have died.

The gestures reflected a dramatic brightening of prospects for Middle East peacemaking since the November death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the rise of Mr Abbas to succeed him on a platform of non-violence.

Reinforcing the sense of optimism, Egypt said that both it and Jordan would return ambassadors to the Jewish state for the first time since the start of the uprising.

Israel has agreed to free 900 of 8,000 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture and the defence ministry said yesterday 500 of those would be released next week.

Militants have demanded Israel free all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Israel said it would not release prisoners convicted of deadly attacks.

Although no formal ceasefire was signed at the summit, it was widely seen as a step back towards talks on a US-backed "road map" for a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

But Islamic militants behind suicide bombings and rocket attacks said they were not bound by Mr Abbas's ceasefire, though they would continue to follow a de facto truce at his behest.

"The announcement... of a ceasefire expresses the position only of the Palestinian Authority," said Mushir al-Masri of Hamas, which is committed to destroying Israel.

Political analysts also sounded a cautious note amid the fanfares of optimism, pointing out the gap remaining on issues that led to the collapse of talks for a Palestinian state on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 war - such as on borders and whether Palestinian refugees get a "right to return" to land in what is now Israel.

Some 3,350 Palestinians and 970 Israelis have been killed since September 2000.

Speaking in Paris after a visit to the Middle East, Ms Rice said the summit "was clearly an important step forward".

"Success is not assured, but America is resolute; this is the best chance for peace we are likely to see for some years to come - and we are acting to help Israelis and Palestinians seize this chance," Ms Rice said.

Mr Sharon's office said he had invited Mr Abbas to a meeting at his ranch in Israel. Palestinian officials said Mr Abbas accepted and that further talks could be held in the West Bank.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said he would take a message to Syria, where Islamic factions have offices and which is accused by Israel of fomenting violence.

"From now on, any violation of the truce will be a violation of the national commitment and will have to be dealt with as such," Mr Shaath said he would tell militant leaders in Damascus.

Israel says it is ready to coordinate with Mr Abbas on its plan to withdraw settlers from occupied Gaza and part of the West Bank this year if violence stops and Palestinians rein in militants, as they are meant to under the road map.

Mr Abbas has said he prefers to co-opt militants rather than confront them, fearing civil strife.

Palestinians have welcomed any withdrawal from occupied territory but fear Israel plans to cement its hold on the West Bank, and demand it abide by a road map commitment to freeze settlement growth. They also want it to stop building a barrier inside the West Bank. Israel says it stops suicide bombings.

More potential pitfalls for peacemaking lie ahead.

Mr Abbas holds strongly to the Palestinian line that a state must include all the West Bank, including Arab East Jerusalem, and Gaza, and that refugees and their millions of descendants should have the right to return to lands in what is now Israel.

Those demands remain deal-breakers for Israel, which wants to keep major West Bank settlement blocs, sees East Jerusalem as part of its own "indivisible capital" and categorically rules out the possibility of refugees returning to the Jewish state.