Gaza City - Israel has rejected an 18-month ceasefire with Hamas and wants an open lull without a time-limit, the Islamist Hamas movement on Saturday said.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said that Egypt, which has mediated between Israel and Hamas, and his movement can't accept such an open lull in accordance with Israel's request.

Tel Aviv  - Two Palestinians died Friday in separate Israeli military attacks into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources.

Jerusalem, Feb 13 : UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has said that a team would leave soon for the Middle East to review all incidents that resulted in death or injuries to United Nations staff during the Israeli raids on Gaza strip.

In a statement issued by Ban Ki-Moon's spokesperson on Thursday night, the UN Secretary-General expected "full cooperation of all parties concerned."

Tel Aviv - The Egypt-Gaza border crossing of Rafah will be open only to humanitarian aid as part of a tentative, 18-month truce agreement between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas movement ruling the strip, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.

Hamas announced Thursday that the long-awaited truce will be declared within three days.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev would not comment.

Cairo- Representatives of rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas have held preliminary talks in Cairo, in what Egypt hopes will be the first of many meetings on forming a national unity government, the al-Arabiya TV news channel reported Wednesday.

The meeting, which took place late Tuesday, was attended by the head of Fatah's parliamentary bloc, Azam al-Ahmad, Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdel-Rahman and senior Hamas officials Jamal Abu-Hashim and Ayman Taha, al-Arabiya said.

Ramallah - A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed concern Tuesday that the anticipated close outcome of Israeli elections could create a "state of paralysis" in advancing the peace process.

"The Israelis voted for a state of paralysis," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told the al-Jazeera satellite channel from Amman, where he arrived with Abbas following a week-long tour of European countries.