GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – The mainstream Palestinian movement Fatah said Sunday it would agree to a mutual cease-fire with Israel in the West Bank and Gaza, and it ruled out attacks against civilians inside Israel – boosting peace prospects ahead of an upcoming summit.

After a two-day meeting of its Revolutionary Council in Gaza, the Fatah movement, headed by new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, declared it was prepared “to be committed to comprehensive mutual cease-fire in the occupied Palestinian land of 1967,” referring to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Also, the statement confirmed an earlier pledge “not to target civilians in Israel by any means.” It was the strongest declaration yet by Fatah against violence as Abbas worked for a comprehensive cease-fire to end four years of bloodshed.

Palestinians hope for such a mutual declaration when Abbas meets Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday at the summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

However, the Fatah statement also reaffirmed “the right of the Palestinian people to resist Israeli occupation, the settlements, the apartheid wall” – a barrier Israel is building along the West Bank – and Israeli military attacks.

So far, Israel has not committed to a formal cease-fire declaration.

It has said it will scale back its military operations as long as the current calm prevails, and it insists that Abbas’ Palestinian Authority must crack down on militant groups.

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