Hanging by a thread

Abbas says he is close to a truce, but the militants appear to be hedging their bets.

New Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he was close to a deal with militants to cease attacks on Israelis, a step needed to relaunch Middle East peacemaking.

"The dialogue is making very good progress. The differences have narrowed greatly and therefore I can say that we are bound to reach an agreement very soon," Abbas, elected on Jan. 9 to replace Yasser Arafat, told Palestine TV....

....Palestinian militant leaders signaled they would agree to maintain calm in Gaza for at least a month, but denied Israeli accounts they had committed to a formal cease-fire.

Until the militants commit to the peace process, nothing has really been done except to allow them to catch their breath, rearm and dig more tunnels.