Sharon, Abbas talk as Israel suspends offensive

Abbas called Sharon with greetings for the Jewish New Year, which starts at sundown on Monday. Sharon expressed best wishes for the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, starting this week.

A statement from Sharon’s office said they ‘‘agreed to tighten cooperation between them and to work together to advance the process. They also agreed to meet soon in order to advance various issues that are on the agenda.’’ ‘‘Both leaders expressed hope that the new year would be more successful, a year of peace and hope,’’ it said.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said no date had been set for a summit. A meeting had been pencilled in for Sunday, but was cancelled because of a lack of preparation and amid the surge of violence.

After five days without rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Israeli security sources said an offensive there was being scaled back to give Abbas a chance to stop militants from launching attacks.

Israeli airstrikes prompted by rocket salvoes killed four gunmen in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces also raided the West Bank to arrest hundreds of suspected militants. Five gunmen and a teenager were killed during raids.

Abbas, under US pressure to bring militants under control, began deploying forces late last week to stop fighters from carrying weapons on Gaza streets and prevent attacks on Israel. Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed the Israeli decision to scale back the offensive.

Abbas is due to visit Washington this month to discuss waysof reviving peace negotiations.

—Reuters