New truce plan surfaces as Cairo peace talks fail

Palestinian officials said the militants’ thumbs-down on Egypt’s proposal for a total truce weakened Qurie’s position ahead of any summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on core political issues like Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The failure in Cairo raised the threat of a militant challenge to the Palestinian Authority, at a time of worsening disorder in Palestinian areas, and infuriated the Egyptian government, Palestinian officials and Arab diplomats said.

‘‘We are committed to the roadmap, committed to peace and willing to continue these efforts to find a solution. The ceasefire is our aim and our target is to find a political solution,’’ said Nabil Abu Rdeinah, senior adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

‘‘The dialogue with the factions will continue inside the occupied territories despite the collapse…,” said Ahmed Ghneim, a senior official in Arafat and Qurie’s mainstream Fatah faction who participated in the Cairo talks.

Palestinian officials said the decision of Muslim militant groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and three other factions to spurn a truce reflected a poor grasp of the international climate. ‘‘They had a very weird analysis of the international situation. They believe the US, Palestinian Authority and Israel are in a crisis, while they are not,’’ Ghneim said.

‘‘Apparently Hamas has not understood changes in the international arena,’’ said Jibril al-Rajoub, a senior security adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Sharon’s government reiterated that it would accept nothing less than a comprehensive truce, not a selective suspension of attacks on civilians in Israel while violence against settlers and soldiers continued as Islamist factions insisted on.

‘‘If there are to be any proceedings with the roadmap, this is the first and foremost condition we expect from Palestinians to keep,’’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Yoni Peled said.(Reuters)