MIDDLE EAST Palestinians say Hamas truce is near

Israel said it would accept a truce only as a precursor to a crackdown on Hamas.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Palestinian officials said today they expect a positive response from Hamas on a truce with Israel soon, perhaps even by the end of the day, and Egyptian diplomatic sources said an announcement would be made in Cairo.
Leaders of the Islamic militant group shut off their phones or declined to comment.
A truce 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 repeatedly in the past, both by Hamas' carrying out attacks and Israel's carrying out targeted killings of militants.
Israel has said this time that it would accept a truce, but only as a brief precursor to a crackdown on Hamas by Palestinian security forces. However, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has said he will not use force against the militants, for fear of sparking a civil war.
Final draft ready
A Palestinian source involved in the truce talks said today that a final draft of the cease-fire proposal has been sent to Khaled Mashal, a top Hamas leader in Damascus.
The draft does not specify the duration of the truce, and this will be left to Egyptian mediators to determine, the source said. The document states that the armed groups are willing to give Abbas a chance to reach an agreement with the Israelis, according to the source.
An Israeli motorist was wounded today by gunshots fired at his car near the West Bank city of Jenin, a spokesman for Israel's medical rescue service said.
Palestinian gunmen frequently fire at Israeli drivers on West Bank highways linking Jewish settlements.
On Friday, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen was killed in such an attack and his two elderly parents, also American, were seriously wounded.
The truce agreement was drawn up by Marwan Barghouti, a jailed Palestinian uprising leader, in his Israeli prison cell, said the source. Barghouti has been in close touch with Mashal through intermediaries, while Egypt has supervised the negotiations.
Egyptian diplomatic sources said Mashal was heading to Cairo later Monday or Tuesday, and that he would be accompanied by Ramadan Shalah, leader of the smaller Islamic Jihad group.
Optimistic
Several Palestinian Authority officials expressed optimism.
"Hamas told us they would give us an answer on Monday so we expect an answer today, and we expect it to be a positive one," said Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, adding that they also expected "to get assurances about Israel's obligations not to carry out any attacks, hopefully today as well."
Two other top officials, Cabinet Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo and adviser Sufian Abu Zaideh, also said that the direction was positive.
The Palestinian source said Hamas would relay its response to Egypt within 48 hours, and that a formal announcement was expected by Thursday in Cairo. Egypt has been trying for several months to try to persuade the armed groups to halt attacks on Israelis.
A key sticking point has been Israel's refusal to date to halt targeted killings of wanted Palestinians. Israel says it reserves the right to go after "ticking bombs," but uses a broad definition that includes not only assailants about to carry out attacks, but also those who send them.
Over the weekend, Israeli troops killed a local Hamas leader in Hebron, Abdullah Kawasme, whom Israel blames for the deaths of 52 Israelis in recent shootings and bombings.
Demand Israeli promise
Hamas and the other militias want Israel to promise that it will halt all military strikes after a cease-fire. Egyptian mediators have been trying to obtain an Israeli guarantee, and have asked the United States for help. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is in the region, has said Israel has the right to stop "ticking bombs," but rejects Israel's broader definition.
In the first stage of the peace plan, the Palestinians must dismantle militias, while Israel must gradually withdraw to positions it held before the outbreak of fighting 33 months ago.
Once Israeli troops pull back, Palestinian security forces are expected to take over and prevent attacks on Israelis from the areas they have taken back. Palestinian officials have said they don't want to assume security responsibility until they've reached a truce deal with Hamas.
Israeli Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, who has been negotiating the terms of a Gaza pullback with Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan, said that after an Israeli withdrawal, Palestinian security forces would have a grace period of about a month, implying that there would be no major Israeli military strikes during that time.
"If they [the security forces] need a few weeks, three or four weeks, to get organized, and those three or four weeks are achieved by some sort of agreement between them and whoever they want, this does not interest us," Gilad told Israel Radio, referring to the talks between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority on halting attacks on Israelis.
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