Calmness has again befallen the Gaza Strip as new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to reach a truce with militants to stop attacks against Israel.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath told reporters on Monday that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the Palestinian militant groups are very close to hammering out a ceasefire, a crucial step needed for the revival of the stagnant Middle East peace process.

Shaath said Abbas and the Palestinian factions "are becoming very close to reaching a national agreement."

"In practice, we have now secured a base for reaching an agreement with both the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) Movement as well as all the other parties, but to achieve such an agreement will of course need some more time," he added.

Meanwhile, militant groups including Hamas and Jihad expressed their willingness and readiness to get to a ceasefire on condition that Israel halts its attacks against the Palestinians.

Although no truce has yet been declared, attacks on Israeli targets in the Gaza Strip have dropped significantly during the past few days since Abbas last Friday ordered to deploy some 3,000 Palestinian security forces across the northern Gaza to curb violence against Israel.

However, some analysts doubt that the truce with Israel, if successfully reached in the end, could last long.

Samir el Kahlout, a Gaza-based Palestinian analyst said, "If a truce is finally declared, who can guarantee that Israel will not try to provoke the Palestinian militants by carrying out military operations in the Palestinian territories?"

He recalled the last ceasefire deal with Israel in 2003 when Abbas was then the first ever Palestinian prime minister.

The deal, declared in June 2003 by militant groups including Hamas and Jihad, foundered shortly afterwards by a new wave of violence as Israel and Palestinian militants blamed each other for being responsible for the failure of the Hudna, or ceasefire.

But some observers and analysts believed that this time things might change and that a serious truce would be reached and observed.

"In terms of the last truce, there was no US pressures on the Palestinians and there was no roadmap peace plan. In addition, for the last truce, there stood Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israel did not unveil its unilateral disengagement plan," said Samir el Kahlout, another Palestinian analyst in Gaza.

Peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel have virtually came to a halt since the Intifada, or armed uprising against Israel, broke out in 2000.

Israel and Washington have long shunned Arafat, considering him as an obstacle for ending violence. The United States has also sided with Israel, calling the Palestinian reactions to the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territories as "terrorism," and asserted that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Analysts think the US stance seems different after Arafat passed away in November 2004 and the Palestinians elected Abbas as the new leader.

In addition, the Palestinians have got tired and exhausted after years of violence cycle with Israel, added the analysts.

"The US position toward the Mideast seems to have changed after Arafat's death and Abbas' election," said Raji Sournai, head of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza.

"US President George W. Bush telephoned Abbas right after the Jan. 9 Palestinian presidential election and congratulated Abbas on his winning. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also telephoned Abbas immediately and the two leaders agreed to hold a meeting soon," he went on.

Israel is also considering cooperation with the Palestinian security forces in the expected pullout from the Gaza Strip, Sournai added.

According to Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, Israel will withdraw from all of the 21 settlements in Gaza and four of the 120 settlements in the West Bank by the end of this year in order to "disengage" from conflicts with the Palestinians.

However, hopes of relaunching the peace talks were overshadowed by escalating rocket attacks from Gaza on Jewish settlements and the southern Israeli town of Sderot.

Abbas, under mounting pressures to fulfill his election promise to cease attacks on Israel and activate negotiations, headed to the Gaza Strip last Tuesday to hold a dialogue with the Palestinian militant groups.

The moderate veteran Palestinian official met twice with Hamas and Jihad leaders and members of the left-wing parties and managed to secure a "cooling down" period.

Zeyad Abu Amer, coordinator of the dialogue between the militant groups and Abbas, revealed that the Palestinian militants agreed to suspend attacks on Israel if the latter declares a cessation of military operations in the Palestinian territories and releases Palestinian prisoners.

Abu Amer, former minister of culture, added that the Palestinian militant groups have initiated calmness for the past few days and they would keep the calmness for some time to see if Israel is really ready to respond to the Palestinian demands.

"If Israel responds to their demands and conditions, a truce will be officially declared," said Abu Amer.

Source: Xinhua