On Sunday, three Palestinian factions, Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, declared the beginning of a temporary ceasefire. While Fatah declared a six-month ceasefire, Islamic Jihad and Hamas announced a three months ceasefire.

Text of Fatah statement:

“Out of the desire of the Palestinian political factions on the higher national interests of the Palestinian people in this critical period of our national struggle and stressing the high importance of the national Palestinian unity in our ability to struggle, steadfast to achieve our fair goals and not to give any chance to harm it on the basis of sticking to the national rights of our people, adopted by the national Palestinian councils of the PLO and the Arab summits, U.N., non-allied and African summits and friends and honorable people in the world, and the full commitment for the continuous struggle to achieve it on top of it the right of our people to return and self-determination and establishing the independent Palestinian state with (Jerusalem) as a capital on all lands occupied in the year 1967 and in response with all the Arab efforts and the Quartet (America, Russian Federation, European Union, United Nations), we declare for all the countries and lovers of peace and freedom in the world our following initiative:

“Cessation of all military operations in accordance with the Egyptian initiative.

“At the same time we call upon all the states and peoples and governments worldwide and especially those interested in achieving peace, security and stability in the area to (urge) the Israeli side to implement the following:

“First, the immediate stop of all acts of Israeli violence against our people, including stopping assassinations, arrests, deportation, massacres against our communities, cities, villages, refugee camps, and to stop the incursions and destruction of the buildings, the economic infrastructure, the official and public institutions, (destruction) of agricultural lands, and lands confiscation, and to stop the Judeaizing measures.

“Second, to lift the closure from the Palestinian people and its legitimate elected leadership.

“Third, to release all the prisoners and detainees from the Israeli prisons.

“Fourth, not to harm the Islamic and Christian holy places, especially the Haram al-Sharif (the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem), the Church of the Nativity and the al-Ibrahimi Mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron).

“Fifth, immediate stop of confiscating of lands and building settlements and expansion in the existing settlements as an introduction to removing (them) and to remove the separation walls.

“Sixth, begin the immediate withdrawal of the occupation forces to where (they were) before Sept. 28, 2000, and to implement the road map band to quickly send the international monitors to supervise its implementation according to the international legitimate resolutions and to establish a just and lasting and comprehensive peace in the area.”

Text of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad statement:

“Out of our desire for the unity of our Palestinian ranks at this dangerous phase which our people and our cause are going through, and in order to protect our national unity achieved by the intefadeh and the resistance and documented by the blood of the martyrs, and as the contribution from us to consolidating Palestinian national dialogue on the basis of adherence to the rights of our people, and in order to protect our internal front from the danger of schism and confrontation, and in order to block the enemy from having any excuse to wreck it, and in an assertion of the legitimate right to resist the occupation as a strategic choice until the end of the Zionist occupation of our land and until we achieve all our national rights, and in response to efforts by many in the Palestinian and Arab arena who care about the unity of the Palestinian national ranks, we declare the following initiative:

“A. Suspension of the military operations against the Zionist enemy for three months, effective today, in return for the following conditions:

“1. An immediate cessation of all forms of Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people including incursions, destruction, closures and sieges on cities, villages and refugee camps, including the siege imposed on President Yasser Arafat, house demolitions, leveling of agricultural land and assaults against land, property and Christian and Islamic holy sites, especially the holy Al Aqsa Mosque. In addition, the immediate cessation of all individual assassination operations, massacres, collective measures, all arrests and deportations against our people, leaders, cadres and fighters.

“2. The release of all prisoners and detainees, Palestinian and Arab, from occupation prisons without condition or restriction and the return to their homes first and foremost of those who have spent long periods and those with lengthy sentences, women, children, the sick and elderly.

“B. In the event that the enemy does not act according to these conditions and commitments, or violates any of them, we see ourselves unencumbered by this initiative and we hold the enemy responsible for the consequences.”