Senior Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed al-Hindi said Israel would have to agree to the group's conditions, such as stopping attacks and raids and freeing Palestinian prisoners, before it would consider halting attacks against Israelis.

We have said clearly and frankly that no cards can be given free for the Zionist enemy," he said. "Sharon wants to withdraw from Gaza in calm. If he wants calm, he has to pay the price".

The militant group denied reports earlier Friday that it had agreed in principle with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to a ceasefire.

Haaretz reported Wednesday Abbas and Islamic Jihad were close to striking a deal, and a Channel 10 report on Friday reinforced the claims, which leaders of the militant group vehemently denied.

Abu Abdullah, a leader of the group's military wing, said the report was "false."

"Talks are still underway between us and Mr. Mahmoud Abbas," Abu Abdullah said.

Nafez Azzam, the top Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, said the Israeli television was "not accurate."

Meanwhile, Egypt will likely host a high-level meeting in Cairo in the coming days with Palestinian officials and Hamas leaders to finalize an agreement that could lead to a cease-fire, an official said Friday.

The Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, refused to give details from the latest round of talks between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leaders in Gaza. He said the talks are moving in a "positive direction."

Abbas has been holding talks in Gaza since Tuesday in an attempt to reach a truce with militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. A halt in the violence could help renew long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Hamas recognizes 1967 borders for first time
Hamas has distributed a document outlining a joint Palestinian leadership program in which the organization, for the first time in its existence, unequivocally recognizes the 1967 borders and adopts the main principle guiding Fatah: the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The document, which proposes that Hamas work with Fatah and other Palestinian organizations, is a combination of internal documents prepared by Hamas over the last two years, some of which were first published in Haaretz. But changes have been made over the last few days, and especially after the meeting between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas with Gazan Hamas leaders Mahmoud al-Zahar, Ismail Haniya and Said al-Siam this week.

The new version of the document says that one of the principles proposed by Hamas for a joint leadership is "a commitment to ending the occupation and establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state, whose capital is Jerusalem." Until now, the organization leaders had issued similar statements about agreeing in principle to cease-fires or a long-term hudna, but it has never delivered an official document to other factions, starting with Fatah, in which they de facto recognize the political principles of Fatah.

On the one hand, the document emphasizes the "legitimacy of the armed struggle, the political struggle and all the jihadist means that the Palestinian people used and uses to achieve freedom and independence, concentrating all the efforts to condemn the occupation in all its forms in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and every centimeter occupied by foreign forces."

But at the same time, it includes an article calling for improving relations with the world in general and the West in particular, "on a moral basis and political principles that will preserve the rights of our people and guarantee an end to the aggression."

The document was finalized in the wake of heavy pressure on Hamas leaders by Abbas during their meeting Tuesday night in Gaza City. At the two-hour meeting, Palestinian sources said they saw Abbas tell Hamas leaders that he intends to deploy the Palestinian security services to prevent all military activity by all the organizations throughout Gaza and he demanded a commitment from them to cease all their military activity.

The demand was accompanied with similar threats by Fatah leaders in Gaza toward Hamas to accept the framework of a general cease-fire and not to clash with the current Palestinian leadership. According to Palestinian sources, the Hamas leaders officially promised to respond to the demands by Sunday but in effect have already complied with the demands.

The document has already been delivered to other factions and reflects Hamas recognition that it cannot oppose the security steps planned by Abbas to cease the rocket fire into Israel and the attacks on the settlements.

Like other documents published in the past, it is called a "covenant of honor" meant to formulate "a general national policy" for the Palestinians. But its language and content reflect the current weakness of the organization compared to the joint operations of the Palestinian security services and the Fatah movement, which are united behind Abbas.

"The Zionist enemy is the main enemy of the Palestinian people because it conquered our land and expelled our nation," says Article 4 of the document, which says that the withdrawal from Gaza will be "a national achievement for the armed struggle and the result of steadfast commitment to the legitimate right to oppose aggression and the occupation."
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/530313.html