CAIRO, March 14: Palestinian militant leaders said on Monday they were ready to offer a formal ceasefire in their campaign against Israel in return for a timetable for Israel to release prisoners and pull out of Palestinian towns.

But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected the idea, saying it meant the militants would not be giving up what he called “the terror option”.

Senior Hamas official Mohammad Nazzal said Mr Sharon’s response showed he wanted to set Palestinian against Palestinian.

“It’s so obvious that Sharon wants to drag the Palestinian authority to clash with the Palestinian factions. He wants a civil war by saying that Palestinian Authority must crack down on militants,” he said in Cairo.

In effect, the militant factions would extend and formalize the existing de facto ceasefire while making clear to Israel it must respond if the truce is to last, officials said.

Hamas West Bank leader Hassan Youssef said earlier: “We approve a conditional truce. We will wait to see what the Israelis will offer and the guarantees that we will get. We have not agreed on a specified timeframe for the truce but once we get all these we will study them and declare our decision.”

A senior official of Islamic Jihad, the second largest militant group, said the militants were considering a three-month truce. “We cannot accept a longer period of time because we know how Israel deals with our calm,” the official said.

The exact wording of the Palestinian offer will be at the centre of debate when 13 factions meet the Palestinian Authority in Cairo on Tuesday evening.

Anwar Abu Taha of Islamic Jihad said the militants wanted an agreement with the Palestinian Authority on the conditional ceasefire but would leave the authority to deal with Israel.

“We are holding these talks to block an American and Israeli attempt to create civil strife, as resistance factions will not abandon their arms,” he said.

HAND-IN-HAND WITH TIMETABLE: Any truce declaration by all the factions would be an advance on the current arrangements — a promise by the Palestinian Authority that Palestinians will not attack Israelis, coupled with an informal agreement that the militants will not attack as long as the Israelis leave them alone.

Abu Taha said the truce must go hand-in-hand with a timetable for Israeli action.

“There has to be a timetable agreed by all Palestinian factions ... Israel must halt all military assaults and start releasing all Palestinian prisoners as well as pulling out from Palestinian areas,” he said.—Reuters