Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said today he was close to reaching a deal with militants to cease attacks on Israelis, a step needed to relaunch Middle East peacemaking.
"The dialogue is making very good progress ... I can say that we are bound to reach an agreement very soon," Mr Abbas told Palestine Television in an excerpt from an interview to be aired later in the day.
Palestinian militant leaders had earlier signalled they would help maintain calm in Gaza for at least a month but denied Israeli accounts that they had committed to a formal ceasefire at the behest of the Mr Abbas.
Mr Abbas, elected this month as Yasser Arafat's successor, has been trying to get militants to call off a 4-year-old armed revolt so he can start negotiating for statehood in Israeli-occupied territories.
But underscoring the challenge facing peacemakers, a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon said only an interim deal was possible in the foreseeable future.
Palestinians seek a final treaty giving them a sovereign state. Palestine Television said that during the interview Mr Abbas stressed Israel had "responsibilities it must carry out" for a ceasefire to work.
Israel must "halt its assaults on Palestinian people, cities and villages, stop chasing fugitives, return deportees to their homes and most importantly (deal) with the issue of (releasing) prisoners," the official television quoted him as saying.
Earlier, Palestinian militants signalled they would shun further attacks on Israelis unless provoked while conducting talks with Mr Abbas expected to go on for about a month, when a firm decision about a ceasefire could be reached.