MIDDLE EAST Militant group says it's ready for cease-fire with Israel

Ariel Sharon said a halt in attacks could prompt the Israeli military to hold back.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- A militant group linked to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' ruling Fatah faction announced Saturday it is ready to stop violence if Israel halts military operations, and Israeli officials indicated that they are considering the idea.
The armed groups want Israel to stop arrest raids and targeted killings of wanted Palestinians in exchange for a truce. In the past, Israel refused to promise the militants amnesty, despite requests by Egyptian mediators who have said they could not seal a truce deal without such Israeli guarantees.
However, two advisers to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Saturday that a halt in Palestinian attacks could prompt the Israeli military to hold back.
"If there will be quiet on the Palestinian side, then there will be quiet on our side, because all of our military operations are only meant to stop terrorism," said Zalman Shoval, a Sharon adviser. Brig. Gen. Giora Eiland, head of Israel's National Security Council, told Israel Radio that quiet would be met by quiet.
The latest statements indicate Abbas is making progress in his attempt to persuade armed groups to halt attacks on Israel, a first step toward ending more than four years of bloodshed. Egypt has asked Palestinian officials and militant leaders to come to Cairo in coming days to finish the deal, Palestinian officials said. The meeting would take place after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which ends Sunday.
Meetings
In the past five days, Abbas has met repeatedly with representatives of the three key militant groups -- Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which has ties to his Fatah movement. Abbas also held talks with smaller factions that are expected to fall in line if the larger three agree to a truce.
In a news conference on Saturday, a masked Al Aqsa spokesman, flanked by four gunmen, said the group would accept a cease-fire "if it is mutual and if Israel also commits to it." The spokesman was identified only by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed.
Abu Mohammed said Israel must also agree to release Palestinian prisoners from its jails. "We think that all the factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, believe that this cease-fire must be mutual," he said.
More than 7,000 Palestinians are in prison for anti-Israeli activity, including violence. Israel has released small groups of prisoners in the past, but has balked at freeing those involved in deadly attacks.
On Friday, some 3,000 Palestinian police deployed in the northern Gaza Strip to prevent rocket and mortar fire on Israeli communities.
No rockets have been fired since Wednesday. On Saturday, there were only four shooting incidents in Gaza, the quietest day there since the outbreak of fighting in September 2000, a senior Israeli security official said on condition of anonymity.