US Assistant Secretary of Statefor Near Eastern Affairs William Burns on Tuesday expressed optimism about resuming the Israel-Palestinian peace process, as Israel's military and Palestinian security officials met to discuss deployment of Palestinian police in the southern Gaza Strip.

Burns, who began a fresh regional diplomatic tour Tuesday to further the long-stalled Mideast peace process, said in Cairo the Palestinians and Israelis might be able to finally work for peace after moderate leader Mahmoud Abbas was elected chairman of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Jan. 9.

"This is the most promising moment for progress between Palestinians and Israelis that any of us have seen in several years," Burns told reporters after a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit.

"Certainly the United States wants to play a role in helping the two parties to make progress with regard to security," said Burns.

Burns, who arrived in Cairo earlier in the day from Brussels where he attended an envoys meeting of the international Quartet on the Mideast issues, will also visit Israel and the Palestinian territories later this week.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday expressed the hope that Burns' peace-boosting visit could reactivate the role of the quartet committee, which groups the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

The quartet should determine mechanism to implement the roadmap peace plan and "make sure that both the Palestinians and Israel honor their respective obligations," he said.

Abbas is said to be going to start an Arab and European tour atthe end of this week before heading to the United States for a meeting with President George W. Bush. Erekat said Abbas' tour will focus on reviving the peace process.

Meanwhile, the chief of the Palestinian national security forces in Gaza announced Tuesday that his forces would be redeployed in the southern Gaza Strip within the coming 48 hours.

Brigadier General Moussa Arafat told reporters that the agreement on redeployment was made Tuesday evening following a meeting with Israeli army commander of the Gaza Strip General AvivKokhavi.

On Friday, Palestinian security forces were redeployed in the northern Gaza Strip and around Gaza City for the first time since the beginning of the Intifada (Uprising) four years ago.

The aim of redeploying security forces was to prevent militants from firing rockets at Israel and the Jewish settlements. The number of attacks dropped to almost zero after the redeployment, military sources said.

In another positive sign, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said on Tuesday that its dialogue with new Palestinian leader Abbas over reaching a truce with Israel was positive and achieved substantial progress.

Hassan Yousef, senior Hamas leader in Ramallah, told the Voice of Palestine radio that "substantial progress" has been made during the week-long dialogue held in Gaza.

"The negotiations with Abu Mazen (Abbas) have produced real results that will soon be released," he said, stressing that whether a truce could be reached depends on Israel's reactions.

The Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, and other Palestinian militant groups refrained over the last few days from carrying out attacks and firing rockets at southern Israel and Jewish settlements.

A Palestinian official close to Abbas said earlier that Palestinian militant groups have promised Abbas during the dialogue that they would suspend attacks on Israeli targets.

However, small armed groups remained active in the southern area of the Gaza Strip, mainly in Khan Yunis, to continue firing homemade mortars at Jewish settlements west of the town.

Abbas arrived in Gaza last Tuesday and held talks with leaders of Palestinian militant groups in an effort to hammer out a truce,a step considered necessary to revive the stagnant peace process with Israel.

Source: Xinhua