Gaza militants signal softer terms

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian militant groups behind rocket attacks on Israel signalled softer terms for a truce on Friday, but Israel renewed strikes on Gaza targets, including a guardhouse outside the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

Hospital officials said three passers-by were wounded in strikes on a home and a wood shop in Jabalya refugee camp. Another missile destroyed a caravan used to house Haniyeh's bodyguards near his home in Gaza City, but no one was hurt.

The new strikes could derail Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's efforts to persuade militants to stop firing makeshift rockets at Israel.

Hamas and other factions had earlier signalled readiness to consider a proposal by Abbas that would effectively lead to renewing a Gaza cease-fire that the moderate leader and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared in November.

"The next 48 hours will be decisive for determining which way the factions are going, and it will depend on Israel and whether it wants to stop its aggression," said Abdel-Hakim Awad, a spokesman for Abbas's Fatah faction.

But the militants denied that any commitments had been made, saying only that they were weighing a proposal made by Abbas for a trial month-long truce in Gaza.

"Our position is that a cease-fire must be mutual, simultaneous and reciprocal and it must cover Gaza and the West Bank in the same time," said Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha.

"Despite our position, we have told Abu Mazen (Abbas) that we will study his offer and inform him of our response in the near future," he said.