Abbas Rejects Peace Talks Without Gaza Ceasefire

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, today rejected US calls to resume peace talks, saying Israel must first reach a truce with Hamas militants in Gaza.

"The negotiations must be started, but after the truce," Abbas said. "Once the truce is achieved the road will be open for negotiations."

He said the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, had told him she would send an envoy to Egypt, which frequently mediates between Israel and Hamas.

"There are real efforts being exerted by Egypt for the truce," Abbas said.

Under pressure from Palestinians in the West Bank, Abbas suspended negotiations with Israel amid its heaviest offensive against Gaza in years. Although Abbas did not mention Hamas by name, his aides said the group clearly must be part of a deal. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas' Fatah forces last year.

The aides said Abbas had proposed that Hamas halt its rocket attacks in return for Israel ending its raids targeting Palestinian militants, and that Egypt reopen its border with Gaza.

Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, declined to discuss any possible deal but suggested Israel could be open to a ceasefire. "If they were not shooting at our civilian population, we would not have to respond," he said.

A month-old child died in crossfire overnight when Israeli forces entered southern Gaza and clashed with militants, Palestinian health officials said. Two hours of shelling by tanks and missiles fired from helicopters also left a local Islamic Jihad leader dead, the officials said.

Islamic Jihad issued a statement pledging revenge attacks "in the depths of the Zionist enemy, God willing".

During her two-day visit to the Middle East, Rice has been urging Abbas to get back to the negotiating table. His refusal to do so while Israel strikes at Gaza makes it unlikely the US will accomplish its goal of brokering a peace deal by the time George Bush leaves the White House in January.

Abbas has condemned Hamas for its rocket attacks on southern Israel, but has also strongly criticized the Israeli government for a retaliation that has killed more than 120 Palestinians. A Hamas rocket attack, meanwhile, last week killed one Israeli man in the southern town of Sderot.

Some Israeli officials have called for the invasion of Gaza to stop the barrages that last week reached as far north as the coastal city of Ashkelon, 11 miles (17 kilometers) from Gaza. The increasing range of militants' rockets puts them closer to striking Tel Aviv.

The Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, was quoted as saying Israel might be forced to return to Gaza, which it evacuated in late 2000. Officials in her office later said she meant a military operation, not reoccupation.

Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, has said that a large-scale operation is in the offing, indicating Israel might try to overthrow Hamas, which won an election two years ago before seizing complete control of Gaza from its rival Fatah last June. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has shrunk from a full-scale invasion because of the risk of heavy casualties among Israelis and Palestinians.