Hamas agrees to end attacks on Israel

Hamas agreed to stop the fire at a late-night meeting on Thursday between Interior Minister Nasser Yousef and the Islamic group's leadership, said ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that the fighting had subsided, and he didn't expect it to overshadow his meeting next week with President Bush.

Israel threatened harsh retaliation after the fighting erupted Wednesday, and warned the Palestinians that a cease-fire declared in February was in danger of collapse. Since Wednesday, Israeli troops have killed three Palestinian militants. Militants have fired 60 mortar shells and homemade rockets at Gaza settlements.

The violence erupted after a long spell of relative quiet in nearly five years of fighting, threatening Israeli plans to withdraw this summer from all the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.

Hamas is challenging Abbas' ruling Fatah party in a parliamentary election scheduled for mid-July, leading Israeli security officials to speculate Hamas violence is meant to strengthen the group and embarrass Abbas ahead of the vote.

"Our brothers in Hamas reaffirmed their commitment to the quiet," Abu Khoussa said. Asked if Hamas had agreed to stop firing at Jewish settlements, he said: "Yes. They agreed not to do that."

Israel has accused the Palestin-ian Authority of not doing enough to stop the militants from firing at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. But earlier this week Hamas militants used fists, rocks and gunfire to prevent Palestinian police from deploying and preventing the rocket fire.

At Thursday's meeting, the sides discussed the incident. Hamas denied its people fired on troops, but witnesses confirmed there was gunfire.

On Friday, Yousef toured the Khan Younis and Rafah areas of Gaza some of the most violent spots in the coastal strip and ordered his men to preserve the truce, Palestinian security officials said on condition of anonymity.