Israeli tanks move into Gaza

The shaky ceasefire seems to be holding

The Israeli army made a brief incursion into Palestinian controlled territory in the Gaza Strip late on Saturday night, Palestinian security forces said.

"Israeli tanks made an incursion of several hundred metres at Deir al-Balah, in autonomous Palestinian territory in the centre of the Gaze Strip," an official said.

Gunfire was exchanged between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen, although no casualties have been reported.

Arafat and Peres have met before

The incursion comes ahead of a planned meeting between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Sunday.

Palestinian security sources say the tanks emerged from the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom and were met with resistance from local people who came out of their houses to stop them proceeding any further.

Israeli army sources say two tanks entered the territory after mortars were fired at the Jewish settlements.

An army spokeswoman says the tanks have now left the area.

Meeting looks likely

Meanwhile Palestinian officials said that the meeting between Mr Peres and Mr Arafat is likely to take place in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Sunday evening, if there are no exceptional incidences of violence from either side.

A preparatory meeting involving Mr Peres and the Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat and the speaker of the house, Ahmed Queria, was reported to have gone smoothly.

Hamas have indicated a halt to suicide attacks

With a shaky five-day truce already in place it is hoped that the meeting will pave the way for a return to security co-ordination, redeployment of Israeli troops and the release by Israel of funds belonging to the Palestinian authority.

The Palestinians are also demanding that the blockades on the Palestinian territories are eased.

Israel has said it imposed the closures to prevent militants from entering its territory to launch attacks and instead propose a gradual easing of the restrictions starting with areas where there is no violence

Ceasefire boost

The ceasefire received a boost on Saturday when a senior Hamas official indicated that the group may halt suicide attacks "in the coming period" unless provoked by the Jewish state.

"The Hamas movement and its military wing don't live in a vacuum; they take decisions based on the interests of the Palestinian people," the official said to the Reuters news agency.

Although Mr Arafat has asked for a total halt to the violence Hamas opposes peace talks with Israel and has carried out a number of devastating suicide bombings in recent months.