Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah declare suspension

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups and Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement declared immediate suspensions of attacks against Israel on Sunday. Israel began pulling troops out of Gaza, in breakthrough attempts to end almost three years of fighting.\nThe militant groups announced three-month truces and Fatah's cease-fire was for six months.\nAt sundown Sunday, in keeping with an agreement to hand responsibility for security in Gaza over to the Palestinians, Israeli troops and tanks began pulling out of northern Gaza.\nAn Israeli pullout is a condition of the U.S-backed "road map" to peace and a Palestinian state by 2005.\nThe Bush administration welcomed news of the cease-fire, but said it wants to see more progress.\n"Anything that reduces violence is a step in the right direction," White House spokeswoman Ashley Snee said. "Under the road map, parties have an obligation to dismantle terrorist infrastructure. There is still more work to be done."\nThe truce was first announced by the two militant groups. The timing came as a surprise, after Palestinian officials said it would be delayed at least until Monday because of political infighting in Arafat's Fatah movement, a partner in the three-way deal.\nHamas and Islamic Jihad apparently did not want to wait for Fatah to resolve its internal agreements.\nAbdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader, read the truce announcement in a phone call to The Associated Press.\n"The two movements (Hamas and Islamic Jihad) decided to suspend military operations against the Zionist enemy for three months, starting today," Rantisi said.\nIslamic Jihad leader Mohammed al-Hindi confirmed that the truce took effect Sunday.\n"This is a joint declaration between Islamic Jihad and Hamas and I think our brothers in Fatah are going to declare their position soon," al-Hindi told the AP.\nHours later, Fatah issued a statement saying it would halt all military operations in accordance with an Egyptian initiative calling for a six-month truce.\nIsraeli officials said they fear the truce will be used by militants to regroup for more attacks against Israel. The government wants the Palestinian Authority to dismantle militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as required by the road map plan.\n"We are not holding our breath," Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir said. "We here in Israel fully support the road map, and we want it to be implemented chapter and verse."\nRantisi reiterated a list of demands -- although not preconditions -- for the suspension of attacks. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have said they want Israel to halt all military strikes, including targeted killings of wanted militants such as a recent attack on Rantisi.\nThe groups also want a release of Palestinian prisoners.\n"We consider ourselves free from this initiative if the Israeli enemy does not implement all the conditions," Rantisi said.\nBefore Fatah declared its cease-fire, its Central Committee met to try to defuse its crisis over the truce. Key members of the group -- led by Arafat and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas - were upset at being kept out of negotiations.\nTalks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the main political rivals of Fatah, were largely handled by Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader jailed by Israel.\nFatah members angered by the back-channel talks had insisted Sunday that the introduction to the document be changed and that the U.S.-backed "road map" be mentioned, according to officials close to the dispute. Such an addition would be unacceptable to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have rejected the plan.\nOver the weekend, the three main groups held talks with 10 smaller factions on joining the truce.\nIn one snag, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical PLO faction, told Palestinian officials Sunday that ,while it would not join a declaration, it would not violate a truce.\nIn Jerusalem, meanwhile, U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice held talks Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a day after meeting with Abbas. Rice is talking to both sides about implementation of the road map.\nIsrael Army Radio said Rice and Sharon discussed details of Israel's troop pullback and an easing of restrictions, including a release of Palestinian prisoners and the possible rebuilding of the Palestinians' international airport in southern Gaza. Israeli troops destroyed the runway in 2001.\nDuring Saturday's meeting, Rice invited Abbas to the White House in the coming days, and he accepted, said a senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The White House did not immediately confirm the invitation.\nAbbas would be the first Palestinian leader in three years at the White House. President Bush has boycotted Arafat, saying he is tainted by terror, while Sharon has met repeatedly with the president.