Egypt bids to bring Palestinian militants to truce deal
Two Egyptian envoys were trying to convince Palestinian militant groups to agree to a suspension of attacks with the carrot of a US promise to put pressure on Israel to refrain from major operations. The two emissaries met Tuesday night with delegations from the mainstream Fatah movement, the Islamist group Hamas and the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Mustafa al-Buheiri and Mohammad Ibrahim, two Egyptian intelligence officials, also held talks with the Islamic Jihad group on Wednesday. According to a Fatah member, the mediators told the factions that Washington was ready to put pressure on Israel not to launch military operations which could jeopardise truce efforts. Full Story