Abbas, Olmert to try to mend cease-fire
The announcement came amid a slowdown in violence after two weeks of fighting between Palestinian rocket squads and Israeli forces. The fighting is expected to dominate the agenda of next week's meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"The president is working night and day for a mutual, comprehensive cease-fire," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a top aide to Abbas.
Abu Rdeneh said next week's summit, scheduled for June 7, "is expected in the Palestinian territories." Officials would not say where, but in the past they have mentioned the West Bank oasis of Jericho as the likely venue.
While the two leaders have held a series of meetings over the past year, the Palestinians haven't hosted any of the gatherings. Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said a West Bank meeting is "a possibility," but said the date and location still have not been finalized.
Olmert and Abbas promised in March to meet every two weeks with the aim of moving beyond day-to-day issues and begin discussing the outlines of a final peace agreement. However, the men have met just once since then, in April, and next week's talks will focus on the fighting.
In the latest violence, Israeli aircraft attacked a Palestinian rocket-launching squad in northern Gaza. No injuries were reported.
"We will actively pursue and hit these rocket launchers as well as those who operate them," said David Baker, an official in Olmert's office.
Despite the flareup, there were signs of a slowdown in fighting. Hamas' military wing, which has been responsible for most of the recent rocket fire, said it has not launched a projectile in 48 hours.
"Perhaps there is an unannounced cease-fire," Abu Rdeneh said.
The smaller Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility for Thursday's rocket fire. In a separate incident, Islamic Jihad said two members were slightly injured in an Israeli artillery strike. But the army denied involvement.