'Arrest of 130 Hamas men not conducive to truce

"Hamas will evaluate its position (on the truce) when the time is appropriate, and it cannot do so as (Israel) raids Hebron and this criminal enemy perpetrates assassinations," Hamas leader Abdul Aziz al-Rantissi told AFP.

"We cannot make up our minds with our neck under the sword," he added.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and US President George W. Bush "must understand that, as well as those who dream that Hamas will adopt a new stance with its neck under the sword.

The Israeli army arrested some 150 suspected Palestinian militants in the West Bank overnight, including 130 suspected Hamas members in the southern city of Hebron alone.

The massive arrests were the latest crackdown on Hamas after one of its military leaders in Hebron was shot dead by elite units on Saturday.

Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas has been spearheading negotiations aimed at convincing radical groups to stop anti-Israeli attacks as a step toward implementing the ailing roadmap for peace.

But Hamas, which has carried out the bulk of attacks since the intifada began in September 2000, and its smaller rival, Islamic Jihad, have consistently said they would not consider a truce as long as Israel continued to target its footsoldiers and military chiefs.

Islamic Jihad said Tuesday it had "started discussing the issue of a truce internally in the West Bank, Gaza, in Israeli jails and abroad.

"The Islamic Jihad will make a decision very shortly, in line with the interests and goals of the Palestinian people," Sheikh Bassam as-Saadi, a senior official in the West Bank, told AFP.