Egyptian intelligence chief holds talks with Arafat, Abbas on truce

The meeting in Arafat's battered West Bank headquarters lasted almost three hours but no concrete information emerged when the three men stepped out.

"We had a meeting with the factions last night, which Hamas did not attend, and we reiterate that our line is to pursue efforts for a dialogue," Arafat told reporters.

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"Suleiman was carrying a message from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak," said Abbas, who also reaffirmed his commitment to a Palestinian dialogue.

Palestinian information minister Nabil Amr said Suleiman's visit was aimed at "promoting a truce" to boost the implementation of the roadmap for peace.

But his visit came a day after Israel tried and failed to assassinate Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi, the political leader of the hardline Islamist movement Hamas.

Rantissi, who suffered light wounds from the missile attack, was quick to promise bloody revenge, vowing from his hospital bed "not to leave one Jew in Palestine".

His movement issued a statement demanding Abbas' government freeze all contacts with Israel and ruling out any ceasefire arrangement.

In his closing statement at the Israeli-Palestinian-US summit in Aqaba, Jordan on June 4, Abbas called on radical groups to end the armed intifada and described their operations as "terrorism".

Suleiman was not scheduled to hold any talks with Hamas during his lightning visit.

Senior Hamas official Ismail Haniya reiterated Wednesday that truce talks were not on the cards following Tuesday's strike.

"After the failed assassination attempt against Abdul Aziz Rantissi and Israel's escalation against the Palestinian people, there is no place for ceasefire talks with the Zionists at this stage," he told AFP.