Hamas Offers 6 Month Gaza Truce With Israel

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has proposed a six-monthtruce between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with anoption to extend it to include Palestinians in the West Bank.

Former Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, speakingin Cairo after meeting Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman,said the truce must include an end to the Israeli blockade of thecoastal strip.

"The movement agrees to a truce in the Gaza Strip .... fixed atsix months, during which period Egypt will work to extend the truceto the West Bank," Zahar said, reading from a Hamas statement.

"The truce must be mutual and simultaneous and the blockade mustbe lifted and the crossing points opened, including the Rafahcrossing point (between Gaza and Egypt)."

Other Palestinian factions, including the Islamic Jihad militantgroup and leftist groups based in Damascus, had preliminarilyapproved the offer, Zahar said.

Israeli officials said they were sceptical about the chances of a truce.

Hamas described the proposed truce as a "period of quiet".

Israel said it was ready for "quiet" on its border with Gaza, but has demanded a stop to rocket attacks against Israelis and weapon smuggling into the coastal strip.

"We can't have a period of quiet that will just be the quiet before the storm," said Israeli spokesman Mark Regev.