Abbas tries to woo hardliners during Damascus visit

Abbas, leading the first official Palestinian visit to Syria since 1996, met Prime Minister Naji Otri a day after talks with President Bashar Assad and leaders of Palestinian militant groups.

Otri and Abbas discussed "the peace process which has been frozen because of Israel's hostile positions toward a just and comprehensive peace based on international resolutions," state-run SANA news agency said.

"Syria backs the struggle of the Palestinian people to recover their rights, liberate their land, [secure] the return [of refugees] and set up an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital," Otri told Abbas.

On Monday, Syria and the Palestinian leaders agreed to coordinate their efforts to make peace with Israel, Abbas said after talks with Assad, who last month offered to reopen negotiations with the Jewish state.

The Palestinian delegation, which includes Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei, was also determined to bolster inter-Palestinian dialogue in a series of meetings with heads of opposition groups based in Syria.

Abbas was due late Tuesday to meet Nayef Hawatmeh, the head of one of the main breakaway PLO factions, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Earlier, he visited the Martyrs Cemetery in Yarmouk refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus, where he was greeted by hundreds of Palestinians carrying portraits of the late Yasser Arafat.

Arafat's former No. 2 in the mainstream Fatah movement, Abu Jihad, who was assassinated by Israel's Mossad secret service in Tunis in 1988, is buried in the cemetery.

"Our visit to Syria has been a success and ... we will continue our meetings and our visits," Abbas told the crowd.

The Palestine Liberation Organization chief, who also held talks Tuesday with Maher Taher, representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was to travel on with his delegation to Lebanon Wednesday.

On Monday evening, Abbas met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah, and Ahead Jibril of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC).

Egypt will host talks between Palestinian political groups in Cairo in March to help unite their positions, the semi-official Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Tuesday.

"There was agreement recently on holding Palestinian national talks in Cairo in March to agree on the principles of national Palestinian action in the coming stage," it reported.

The daily said the discussions in Cairo would continue ongoing internal Palestinian talks.

Abbas is the front-runner to replace Arafat as Palestinian Authority president in elections next month.

Since Arafat's death on Nov. 11, Abbas has been trying to persuade Hamas to freeze its campaign of attacks against Israel and rally to his support to pave the way for smooth elections on Jan. 9.

"The Palestinian dialogue will continue inside [Palestinian territories]," Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said on Monday.

"There are no differences over the objectives: to eliminate Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, to set up an independent Palestinian state ... and to solve the question of refugees," he said.

PFLP-GC second-in-command Talal Nagi said: "All Palestinians, including Hamas, now agree with these objectives."

But Hamas, which opposes the 1993 Oslo accords granting Palestinians limited autonomy, has yet to clarify its position after calling for a boycott of the elections. - With Agencies

Palestinians, Israel back peace plan

CAIRO: Palestinians and Israelis have agreed in principle to proposals aiming to end their conflict, Egypt's official news agency MENA said Tuesday.

In reaction, Israel termed as premature the report that it had agreed on the proposals, but said it would respond positively if militants ceased attacks.

Quoting unidentified high-level sources, the report said the steps, including an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire, had U.S. and EU support.

"There are a few correct elements, but it's premature to say there's a deal," a senior official in Premier Ariel Sharon's office said. "We will respond positively if, on the other side, there will be arrangements for a cease-fire."

MENA said: "Sources confirmed an important understanding ... has been completed between Egypt, Israel, the Palestinians and several international parties ... regarding a comprehensive settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian struggle."

It said points under discussion included a Palestinian commitment to stop operations against Israel and to control Gaza and the West Bank, while Israel would stop military actions as long as the Palestinian commitment held.

"Sharon does not find it necessary to sign a cease-fire until the security and administrative capabilities of the Palestinian Authority are rebuilt gradually," the report said.

MENA said officials expect that "preparations will take place until July, after which political action will begin."

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