Escalation of ME violence is over

"The effort and contacts between Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority during the last 24 hours succeeded to stop the escalation," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

The head of an umbrella committee representing all Palestinian armed factions, Ibrahim Abu al-Naja, said earlier that militant groups were working towards an agreement to end rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip.

However, there was no immediate confirmation from radical groups that such an agreement was in place.

Nine Palestinians have been killed in air strikes over the Gaza Strip since a suicide bombing in northern Israel on Wednesday killed five Israelis.

"What we want now is to keep the cooldown, commit (the Palestinians) to the national position and stop the armed showdown to create good circumstances to solve the outstanding issues between the two sides," Abu Rudeina added.

Meetings have taken place between faction representatives and the Palestinian Authority, and Abbas had been in contact with Arab leaders to reach a comprehensive agreement to stop the escalation, Abu al-Naja said.

He had called for a guarantee from the international community and Israel not to break the calm, but a senior Israeli official told AFP that the Jewish state was not part of the agreement announced by the Palestinian Authority.

The matter was a purely internal affair, the source said on condition of anonymity.

No rocket attacks have been reported in Israel since a projectile landed in the early hours of Saturday, causing no injuries or damage.

The Israeli army responded with a burst of artillery fire into open fields in the northern Gaza Strip, used by militants to fire makeshift rockets.

Israel's pullout from Gaza last month had raised hopes in the international community of a genuine breakthrough in the peace process but such optimism has steadily fallen amid lingering violence.

The Palestinian Authority had called on the United States to press Israel for an immediate ceasefire and an end to air raids on the Gaza Strip.

"We have asked the United States to make contact with Israel to obtain an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip," Abu Rudeina told AFP on Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had previously ruled out talks with Abbas unless the Palestinian Authority cracks down on militants.

Militant factions have been largely observing a shaky ceasefire in attacks on Israel since Abbas was elected in January.