RAMALLAH, West Bank -- A senior official in Yasser Arafat's Fatah Movement said Tuesday talks were still underway to create a unified Palestinian platform, after Islamist groups rejected an appeal for a swift halt to attacks inside Israel. "The national dialogue is continuing and will continue," said Sakher Habash of Fatah's Central Committee. "There are more points of common ground than differences."

He admitted there were still differences on how and where to direct anti-Israeli attacks.

"Yes, there is still conflict over the resistance operations, where, when and how it should be, but at the same time there is no final decision from Hamas. This dialogue will continue," he told AFP.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials earlier said they had no intention of renouncing attacks inside Israel in the immediate future, despite reports by Palestinian officials that they were close to an agreement on the issue.

"Hamas will not accept any document that does not give it the right of resistance on all Palestinian lands," Gaza Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab told AFP.

"Islamic Jihad will continue its resistance to the occupation, even if we reach an agreement on the document" under discussion, which focuses on forging a united Palestinian leadership and not on halting such attacks, said top Jihad leader Mohammed al-Hindi.

Both groups refuse to accept the existence of the Israeli state.

Fatah officials said Monday they had agreed with an appeal from an inter-factional umbrella group to halt attacks inside Israel.