Gaza City, June 27: The Palestinian Authority is ready to completely implement any ceasefire decision, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was quoted as saying by a news agency. The announcement followed a meeting between Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) executive committee and heads of his Fatah Party in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Arafat confirmed that both the PLO and the Palestinian Authority would "completely implement ceasefire decision and will continue efforts to implement the roadmap". Arafat discussed both Arab and international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians, the agency said.
Arafat said earlier the Palestinian factions might announce a truce within a few hours, but the radical Hamas and Islamic Jihad Groups said it was still a matter of days. Arafat's Fatah, the hardline Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian factions have been discussing a truce for weeks, following a proposal by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas.
The roadmap, officially endorsed by the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers at a joint summit with US President George W Bush this month, calls on Palestinians to break up militant groups and for Israel to ease economic hardships on the Palestinians.
The aim is to pave the way for creating an independent Palestinian state as early as 2005. Bureau Report