Israel kills 2 Hamas men as US envoy holds talks

The latest bloodletting raised questions about whether Hamas, the main group behind a campaign of suicide bombings against Israelis, would soon call a temporary cease-fire.

Palestinian officials have voiced hope that Hamas would accept a moratorium on attacks in coming days. But Israel and Hamas have shown little willingness to abandon a cycle of tit-for-tat violence.

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Hamas's military wing said in a statement that two of its gunmen, aged 20 and 23, were killed in a raid on an Israeli army outpost in the town of Beit Hanoun. The army said the militants had barricaded themselves inside a house and battled soldiers.

Hamas said the attack was to avenge Israel's killing of senior Hamas member Abdullah Qawasme last weekend in the West Bank city of Hebron. "We promise that the flag of jihad (holy war) and resistance will remain raised until the end of the (Israeli) occupation," Hamas said.

The gunbattle raged just nine km (four miles) from the Gaza City office of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas where he met US envoy John Wolf.

Tensions remained high after Israel detained more than 130 Palestinians on Tuesday in a sweep for militants in Nablus and Hebron, the two largest West Bank cities.

Israeli police said they arrested two Palestinians with a bomb on Wednesday on the way to carry out a suicide bombing in central Israel.

Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said on Tuesday that Israel had to pursue militants preparing attacks in the absence of a Palestinian Authority crackdown against them.

Palestinian officials said the mass arrests represented an Israeli attempt to sabotage truce efforts. Hamas called it a "Zionist assault" that dimmed chances for a cease-fire.

Despite that, Israeli political sources have predicted that a truce announcement will come from Egyptian mediators, possibly after a new meeting with militant leaders in Cairo.

Once a truce began, Israel would hold off on military operations in those areas to give the Palestinian Authority a chance to enforce security and take action such as disarming militants there, the sources said.