The PLO Executive Committee on Sunday endorsed Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's call for an end to terrorist [I bet he didn't use that word.] attacks on Israel and called for immediate talks between Palestinian factions to achieve a cease-fire.

The call was issued following an emergency meeting of the committee in Ramallah to discuss the latest upsurge in violence in the Gaza Strip.

However, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah's armed wing, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, responded by rejecting the call and pledging to pursue the fight.

Sunday's meeting was held against a backdrop of increased rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli settlements and towns over the past few days. It also came days before Abbas's planned visit to the Gaza Strip to try to convince all Palestinian groups to accpet a cease-fire.

A statement published by the committee after a three-hour meeting chaired by Abbas said: "The (PLO executive) committee calls for halting all military operations that cause harm to our national interests and provide Israel with an excuse to disrupt stability on the Palestinian arena."

This specific phrase was played down, appearing only towards the end of the statement, most of which was devoted to criticizing Israel's practices in the Gaza Strip. ...