Palestinians pledged new efforts today to coax militants into a truce with Israel after talks in Cairo broke down, undercutting Prime Minister Mr Ahmed Qurie and deflating hopes of reviving a peace "road map".
The failure to arrange a ceasefire set back the moderate Mr Qurie's bid to gain credibility among ordinary Palestinians by encouraging Israel to lift its military clampdown on West Bank cities and strengthening US backing for a Palestinian state.
Palestinian officials said the militants' rejection of Egypt's proposal for a total ceasefire weakened Mr Qurie's position ahead of any summit with Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon on core political issues like Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Israeli Vice Premier Mr Ehud Olmert said the collapse of the Cairo talks on Sunday showed Mr Qurie was reluctant to rein in militants as required by the US-backed road map and pointed to "the possible failure of (his) government in the near future".
Palestinian officials and Arab diplomats said the failure of the talks also raised the threat of a militant challenge to the Palestinian Authority, at a time of worsening disorder in Palestinian areas, and infuriated the Egyptian government.
"We are committed to the 'road map', committed to peace and willing and ready to continue these efforts to find a solution. The ceasefire is our aim," said Mr Nabil Abu Rdeinah, senior adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. The road map charts reciprocal steps towards ending three years of Israeli-Palestinian violence and creating a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by 2005.