TEL AVIV, 15 June 2003 — After a week of tit-for-tat strikes that killed over 50 people, it was time for Israel and the Palestinians to talk peace yesterday. Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan was to meet senior Israeli military officials in the first such talks since US President George W. Bush launched the peace plan at a summit last week.

But there was little cause for optimism amid Hamas vows of revenge and Israel’s pledge to wage war against them “to the bitter end”.

“Hamas is rejecting any call for cease-fire under occupation,” senior Hamas leader Abdul Aziz Al-Rantissi said. “The word cease-fire is not in our dictionary.”

“We are being attacked, the Palestinian people, our land, our religious sites are being attacked by Zionist terrorists. This is a situation of self-defense and we will continue to defend ourselves,” he said.

Palestinian officials and Hamas were earlier said to be in contact on a possible truce amid reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had proposed a three-day cease-fire with the movement.

Hamas’ smaller rival, Islamic Jihad, also rejected the proposal, describing it as “a trick.” “What is a three-day cease-fire? Will he start shelling again after three days? If there is no clear position on ending the occupation and releasing prisoners, we will go back to the cycle of violence,” said Mohammad Al-Hindi, a leader of the group.

Veteran US diplomat John Wolf will hold separate talks in coming days with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. His original brief was to oversee implementation of reciprocal confidence-building steps mandated by the road map, which calls for creation of a Palestinian state by 2005. But following the latest upsurge in violence, he was expected to find himself in the role of a trouble-shooter.

Israeli forces yesterday tightened travel restrictions in the Gaza Strip and raided the Tulkarm refugee camp in the West Bank, where witnesses said troops wounded four Palestinians.

An Israeli military source said soldiers on a mission to capture a wanted man fired at “suspicious figures”.