Jerusalem: In a major boost to the Middle East peace process, Yassar Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement joined radical Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad on June 29 in announcing a truce with Israel, even as Israeli troops pulled out of the Northern areas of Gaza Strip.

Hours after the announcement of three-and-a-half months of ceasefire by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a statement by Fatah said it would halt all military operations in accordance with an Egyptian initiative, which called for a six-month truce.

Soon after Hamas and Islamic Jihad made the announcement, Israeli troops and tanks began pulling out of Northern Gaza, in keeping with an agreement to hand down responsibility for security in Gaza over to the Palestinians, Israeli public television reported.

The positive developments came after US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice held crucial discussions with Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers in a bid to push both sides towards implementation of the "roadmap" for peace.

"The two movements decided to suspend military operations against the Zionist enemy for three months, starting today," Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who was the target of an Israeli assassination attempt earlier this month, was quoted by Israeli media as saying.

PTI