OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 27 October 2003 — Hamas said yesterday it is ready to talk to the Palestinian prime minister about halting attacks on Israelis.
Israel yesterday retaliated for the attack on the Netzarim settlement, blowing up three uninhabited high-rise buildings the army says were used as lookouts by the assailants, one from Hamas and the other from the smaller Islamic Jihad group, who killed three Israeli soldiers at the isolated, heavily guarded settlement southwest of Gaza City. More clashes were reported in Gaza, leaving at least one suspected Palestinian militant dead.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his Cabinet he would try to persuade European leaders not to back an unofficial peace proposal reached by Palestinian officials and Israeli opposition figures with Swiss backing.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei, who took office on Oct. 5, has repeatedly said that he wants to reach a cease-fire in hopes of ending more than three years of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians. However, Israel has said it will not begin such negotiations until all Palestinian security forces are placed under one command and begin cracking down on militants.
Qorei and his predecessor, Mahmoud Abbas, have held talks with militant groups about halting attacks voluntarily, but so far to no avail. The militants say they want guarantees that Israel stop its military strikes, a promise Israel has refused to make.
A unilateral truce declared by militants June 29 was negotiated through back channels, without the involvement of Abbas, and broke down several weeks later in a burst of violence. Despite these difficulties, Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, said his group had responded favorably to an invitation to meet with Qorei.
