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Neither side progresses at Mideast talks

Israeli soldiers patrol a field near the Palestinian West Bank town of Ramallah on Monday. PHOTO: AP

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas tried to persuade militant groups to stop attacks against Israel -- the key to putting into effect a US-backed Mideast peace plan -- after Egyptian mediators went home unsuccessful.

Abbas met late Monday with members of his own Fatah faction and hoped to meet leaders of the militant group Hamas and other factions yesterday, after top Egyptian officials left for Cairo failed to extract a pledge from Israel to stop targeting Hamas leaders for assassination.

Instead, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would continue his offensive against Hamas.

The Hamas-Israel clash, which has included a suicide bombing in Jerusalem and helicopters strikes in Gaza over the past week, has caused dozens of casualties on both sides and endangered the US-backed "road map" peace plan.

Palestinians involved in the truce talks on Monday said Egypt would invite all the factions to Cairo. Previous rounds there have not produced results.

In another development, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called the wife of imprisoned West Bank leader Marwan Barghouti early yesterday, and told her Israel would release Barghouti in the next two days. Barghouti is on trial for murder, charged with complicity in terror attacks that killed 26 Israelis.

" The voices against Hamas in the world are increasing, and there are calls to increase pressure on this murderous group."

Ariel Sharon, Israeli prime minister

Israeli officials were not available for comment, but there has been no hint that Israel would free Barghouti during his trial.

Abbas' task was daunting. Not only did he face the recalcitrant Hamas, but the military wing of his own Fatah faction as well defied his call to halt attacks against Israelis.

After Monday's session with the Egyptian mediators, top Hamas official Ismail Abu Shanab said it was premature to talk about a ceasefire.

"Now is not a time for truce. It is time for solidarity and standing united against Israeli attacks on our people," he said.

A source close to the talks said US mediators would press Israel to end the targeted killings, and that if it succeeded, the militant groups would then agree to a truce.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Egyptians were asking for a written American guarantee of Israel's commitment on this issue, and on troop withdrawals and other steps implementing the road map.

Israeli officials insisted that they would continue targeting the militants and rejected the idea of a ceasefire that did not include a dismantling of the militias, as called for in the road map.

Speaking to the Israeli parliament, Sharon did not mention the ceasefire effort in Gaza, declaring that his government would "pursue and catch every initiator of terrorism and its perpetrators in every place and at every time until victory."

He charged that Hamas had unleashed a "new wave of terror," noting Wednesday's suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus that killed 17 people, and said Israel would continue targeting terrorists.

Referring to US President George W. Bush's call for a global cutoff of funds to Hamas, Sharon said, "Because of our position, the voices against Hamas in the world are increasing, and there are calls to increase pressure on this murderous group. This is what we have done, and we will continue to do it."

Sharon repeated his vague offer of "painful concessions" for peace, but added he will "not give anything as long as terror, violence and incitement continue."
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