Abbas holds back on resuming peace talks with Israel

By Sue Pleming and Mohammed Assadi

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice failed to win a public commitment from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to resume peace talks with Israel.

Abbas, who on Sunday suspended negotiations in protest at a five-day Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed over 120 people, urged Israel to halt military operations to create the atmosphere for peace talks.

Israeli soldiers briefly re-entered the central Gaza Strip and clashed with gunmen late on Tuesday, killing a senior Islamic Jihad militant before pulling back, ambulance workers and the army said.

Medical workers said a Palestinian infant was also killed and eight other people were wounded in the clash.

On withdrawing its troops on Monday, Israel threatened to send its forces back if cross-border rocket attacks continued.

Tuesday's raid came a day after Israeli troops withdrew from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip following a five-day campaign in which over 120 Palestinians, about half of them civilians.

On a mission to salvage peace talks, Rice gave no sign she secured Abbas's agreement to return to negotiations.

Rice told a joint news conference with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah: "We look forward to the resumption of those negotiations as soon as possible."