Jerusalem, June 26: Palestinian negotiators said today they have obtained a commitment from Islamic militants to halt attacks on Israelis for three months and that a formal truce would be announced before the weekend. Palestinian Authority officials and Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip insisted the deal is not final, while Israel and the United States were skeptical about the value of such an arrangement, saying Palestinian security forces must quickly disarm the militias. A truce might help end 33 months of violence, a necessary prelude to the US-backed ``roadmap'' plan aimed at establishing a Palestinian state by 2005. The plan requires the Palestinians to break up the armed groups, but Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has ruled out using force, saying he fears it would lead to civil war. The truce deal was negotiated by Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian uprising leader jailed by Israel, and the heads of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups in Damascus. Barghouti, using envoys, acted on behalf of Palestinian leaders, the negotiators said. Bureau Report